gen z photo essay

The Berkeley Beacon

Photo essay: Cigarettes in Gen-Z

Cigarettes are back. Is it the inherent uncoolness of vaping or the nihilism of a younger generation?

Photos by Carson Dyer, modeled by Paige Victoria and Carson Dyer.

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Who is Generation Z and What Visuals Represent This Generation

Authenticity is paramount for taking images that represent a generation. take a look at who makes up generation z and what matters to them..

There’s rarely a place in popular culture you can turn to today where Generation Z isn’t leading the conversation. Music, fashion, social media, and shows on streaming platforms including Netflix and Hulu are slowly catering more and more to this post-Millennial generation. Generation Z starts between 1997 and 2012, and they are the new consumer generation to know (and market visuals to).

And why shouldn’t they be? The image invoked by the very term “Gen Z,” as individuals in that age group are called, is quickly becoming the image of both the present day and the future: stylish, politically liberal, sexually fluid, and just plain cool .

As members of Generation Z have entered adolescence and young adulthood, they’ve taken to social media platforms like Instagram and now TikTok to vocalize their feelings on the major discussions of their lifetime, from climate change to gender identity. They’re also not afraid to have fun, participating in popular dance challenges, taking a walk on the wild side with their appearances, and preaching acceptance for people of all backgrounds.

So, how can photographers today successfully visually capture Gen Z in photos? For the generation cementing itself as what the future looks like, here’s a look at how the eyes behind the lens can accurately portray the next generation.

Who is Generation Z?

Born between 1997 and 2012 , the oldest members of Gen Z will be turning 23 this year, and the youngest will be turning eight. Members of Gen Z in 2020 are still experiencing their formal years—going through elementary school, high school, college, and all of the prime emotional development that comes with those time milestones. 

Contrary to popular belief, since word has become synonymous with young people, teenagers and young adults today do not fall under the category of “millennial.” Actual millennials were born between 1981 and 1996. The youngest in their age range will turn 24 this year and the oldest are coming up on 39. Millennials are no longer teens and young adults; that title belongs to Generation Z.

What issues do Generation Z value? 

From organizing worldwide protests, like March for Our Lives for gun control and Fridays for Future for climate change, to being repeatedly vocal on the importance of voting in elections, teenage and young adult members of Gen Z value certain issues and make sure the world knows their importance, too. Being directly behind millennials in age, both age groups consider many of the same issues important, according to studies done by the Pew Research Center .

Gen Z is a considerably more racially diverse age group . 48% identify as non-white, and their beliefs reflect that more worldly, progressive view. A majority of those in the age group believe discussions on same-sex relationships, the fair and equal treatment of minorities, and diversity as a regular occurrence in everyday society is a good thing.

Gen Z also values the importance of gender identity and sexuality. One-third of Gen Zers today have a regular relationship with someone who uses a gender-neutral pronoun like “they,” and fewer and fewer would consider themselves strictly heterosexual ; only 66% as of 2017.

What trends represent Gen Z?

If internet culture has taught us anything, it’s that Gen Zers are brimming with creativity. Social media apps like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and the like have become a world stage for Gen Z because of how they incorporate it into their daily lives. On the other end of the interest spectrum, Gen Zers are vocal about their beliefs and frequently vocalize those passions, as seen with larger societal discussions like gun control and immigration.

Gen Z Trend: Second-hand fashion and sustainability

The fashion industry has had to rethink their entire development and sales model thanks to Gen Z’s penchant for second hand clothing and sustainability . Affordability also ranks high in terms of what Gen Z shoppers are looking for.

This results in businesses like Depop becoming the go-to place to buy clothing. The buy and sell app offers clothing and accessories, featuring brand names Gen Zers are looking for, at a discounted price. Depop offers customers a way to obtain the look they want at a fraction of the market price and give a second life to clothing instead of continuously buying new items created by fast fashion, which contributes largely to the Earth’s waste problem.

• Shooting Environmentally-Conscious Imagery That Tells Stories

Gen Z Trend: Gender identity and sexuality

Gen Zers recognize that gender and sexuality is a spectrum and we live in a society more accepting of same-sex relationships. Acceptance of persons on that spectrum and with a same-sex partner (or partners) is normal for members of this generation; they are their classmates, coworkers, and favorite influencers.

• Breaking Gender Stereotypes through Innovative Illustration

Gen Z Trend: TikTok 

Born from the ashes that was the six-second video platform Vine ( RIP ), TikTok has blown up thanks to the myriad of Gen Zers creating and popularizing dance challenges like the Renegade and the Savage challenge, getting songs like Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” and Doja Cat’s “Say So” to climb up the Billboard charts, and lip dubbing lines from movies.

The app has made it easy for many users to go viral . Pair that with the sheer fun that comes out of creating videos and sharing them with friends and you have Gen Z users shaping what we see in mainstream popular culture.

• Photographers Guide to TikTok

Gen Z Trend: Activism

Gen Zers have led the charge on protesting in recent years. Youth activists like Greta Thunberg and Emma Gonzalez have become the face of the next generation. This generation of young people shows their hunger for change in the form of in-person protests and online awareness. Teenagers and young adults are in tune to the issues that matter most to them, and activism is giving them a chance to not only be heard but to encourage their peers.

Visually Representing Generation Z in Images

For a generation leaning heavily into fashion, creativity, gender nonconformity, mixed-race identity, technology, and same-sex relationships, images of Gen Zers must reflect that. Members of Gen Z are the very definitions of individuality, so photos showcasing them will be just that.

Same-sex and nontraditional relationships

Because fewer members of Gen Z identify as straight and adhere to traditional relationship structures, a standard photo of a Gen Z couple would include two men or two women (any of whom could be transgender), relationships involving one or more non-binary persons, or a polyamorous partnership.

• Keywording Photos using LGBTQ+ Inclusive Language
• How to Capture Authentic LGBTQ+ Content

Transgender, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming persons

While there is no single way a transgender, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming person looks, having a photo subject identify as such is a step in the right direction for representation.

Mixed-race ethnicity

More members of Gen Z are identifying as non-white, resulting in fewer strictly white-identifying persons being the subject of photos.

Fashion-forward, from style trends to bold hair colors to makeup

Gen Zers showcase their individuality through fashion trends including streetwear and vintage pieces, statement-making hair colors, and unique makeup trends including variations on the cat eye and bold eyeshadow colors.

Use of Technology

Images of Gen Zers utilizing technology would be on the nose for their generation, as popular apps for entertainment, ways to communicate, and ways to get from point A to point B exist on mobile devices.

With Gen Z slowly taking the reins of the future of mainstream culture, from political beliefs to entertainment, having photos reflect that change is needed for stock photo companies. Their varied appearances and interests are paving the way for a new type of future. A future that boasts the importance of representation. Visuals shape what we perceive as normal on TV and online, and photos of the new normal are no different.

Top image by Insta_Photos .

Check out these articles for other trending topics to visually represent:

• Diversity in Sports Photography — 2020s “Game On” Trend
• Representing Autism Spectrum Disorder in Images
• Creating Marijuana Illustrations for a New Cannabis Culture

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Afghanistan‘s Generation Z – a photo essay

Afghanistan’s Generation Z has grown up in a 17-year window overshadowed by war and a heavy international presence and now faces an uncertain future and the possibility of stark change

T he start of 2019 has brought for Afghanistan a tantalising hope of peace, as the Taliban sat down for talks first with Americans in Qatar and with senior members of the Afghan elite in Moscow. Donald Trump has told Americans his administration had accelerated talks for a political settlement in Afghanistan and would be able to reduce US troops there as negotiations advance to end America’s longest war.

No one knows what form a new government may take or how much control the Taliban might have under any deal, but for young people who were babies when the Taliban were driven from power by a US-led campaign in 2001, the prospect of peace with the hardline Islamists brings a daunting mix of hope and fear.

For villagers in rural Afghanistan, where traditional ways have always counted for more than central government law, life may not change much. But for the young of Kabul and other cities, there is much to lose, in particular the freedoms restored after the Taliban were ousted – from playing music, to modelling and adopting trendy haircuts – which they’ve grown up with.

Maram Atayee, 16

“The thing I’m most worried about is that if they return, I’ll not be able to continue playing music,” said a 16-year-old pianist who attends music school in Kabul. “It will be great if the government and the Taliban reach a peace deal. At that time there should be access to music for everyone and women’s rights must be protected.”

When the Taliban were last in power, they gained global notoriety for a harsh regime that forced women and girls to stay at home, restricted music and sports and imposed brutal punishment on infractions of a hardline version of Islamic law. More recently, they have adopted a more moderate tone, including pledges on rights for women and girls’ education, appeals for support from foreign aid groups and promises to maintain good international relations.

Hussain, 19

While huge doubts remain, the peace talks have given young people a sense of hope. “I am optimistic about the Taliban joining the peace process,” said Hussain, 19, who like many young Afghans grew up in neighbouring Iran where millions have taken refuge from war. He now works as a hairdresser in Kabul. “It will be an end to the war and conflicts in our country. I want the Taliban to change their policy and not behave like before.”

Afghanistan has a strikingly young population, with more than 60% of its 35 million people under the age of 25, and half under the age of 15, according to the UN population agency. Like young people everywhere, Afghanistan’s urban youth rely on technology for their window on global trends and culture, and face huge problems finding permanent, stable work.

Kawsar Sherzad, 17

They have also had to deal with near-daily violence and a broken economy that cannot provide jobs for the 400,000 or so new entrants to the workforce every year. Hundreds of thousands have migrated in the years since 2014, when most foreign forces left. Many have risked dangerous journeys in search of new homes in countries such as Turkey, or in Europe or further afield. For some of those who have remained, there is now hope that peace will bring opportunities.

Women’s rights have improved in recent years under the western-backed Afghan government, especially in cities such as the capital Kabul, where many women work outside the home and more than a quarter of the parliament is female.

Zarghona Haidari, 22

However, a recent survey of 2,000 adults pointed to a gulf in attitudes between men and women. About two-thirds of men thought women in Afghanistan had too many rights, and that women were too emotional to become leaders, compared to less than a third of women. And while nearly three quarters of women said a married woman should have equal rights with their partner to work outside the home, only 15% of men agreed.

The male generational gap may be explained by younger men seeking rigid gender roles as they struggle to find work and stability in a country ravaged by war and poverty, said gender equality group Promundo. Religious teachings against women’s rights under the Taliban regime had also played a role in hardening views among younger men.

Sultan Qasim Sayeedi, 18

Sultan Qasim Sayeedi, an 18-year-old model scours Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to learn about fashion and modelling, and draws inspiration from his favourite models, including Saudi Arabia’s Omar Borkan, and Canadian popstar Justin Bieber. “We’re afraid that if the Taliban come then we will not be able to hold our shows,” he said. Despite that wariness, Sultan says it’s time the fighting ended. “If American troops will go peace will come, we want peace,” he said.

Maryam Ghulami, a 20-year-old living in the western province of Herat, says her generation will bring change that her parents never could. She is learning graphic design and computer coding at an online academy and likes to hone her skills with YouTube tutorials. While she believes Afghanistan faces many problems – a slow and unreliable internet connection, for a start – she has faith that her generation can bring change. “The new generation can change Afghanistan with knowledge, with technology,” she said.

Zainab Farahmand, 22

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Gen Z are not ‘coddled.’ They are highly collaborative, self-reliant and pragmatic, according to new Stanford-affiliated research

Generation Z, the first generation never to know the world without the internet, value diversity and finding their own unique identities, says Stanford scholar Roberta Katz.

Generation Z – also known as Gen Z, iGen or postmillennial – are a highly collaborative cohort that cares deeply about others and have a pragmatic attitude about how to address a set of inherited issues like climate change, according to research by Roberta Katz, a senior research scholar at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) .

Roberta Katz (Image credit: Charles Katz)

Since 2017, Katz, along with her co-authors, Sarah Ogilvie, a linguist at the University of Oxford and formerly at Stanford; Jane Shaw, a historian who is the principal of Harris Manchester College at Oxford and was previously dean for Religious Life at Stanford; and Linda Woodhead, a sociologist at King’s College London, collaborated as part of a multi-year CASBS research project to better understand a generation who, born between the mid-1990s to around 2010, grew up with digital tools always at their fingertips.

Their findings are based on some 120 interviews gathered on three college campuses – Stanford University; Foothill College, a community college in Los Altos Hills, California; and Lancaster University, a research university in Lancaster, England. A set of focus groups and two surveys in the U.S. and the U.K. were administered to a representative sample of over 2,000 adults aged between 18 and 25 years old.

Contributing further to the scholar’s understanding of Gen Z was the creation of the “ iGen corpus ,” a 70 million item digital repository of spoken and written language of people aged 16 to 25 years that included transcripts from the researchers’ interviews and focus groups, as well as public data from the social media platforms Twitter, Reddit, Twitch, 4chan and YouTube, as well as memes and copypastas from Facebook and Instagram. Ogilvie, the principal investigator on the corpus research team, along with a team of Stanford student research assistants, applied machine learning algorithms to discover the many ways in which young people today express themselves.

Taken together, the scholars’ research offers a snapshot of who Gen Zers really are, what matters to them and why. Findings from Katz’s and her co-authors’ research are detailed in a new book, Gen Z, Explained: The Art of Living in a Digital Age (University of Chicago Press, 2021).

Here, Katz discusses some of what she and her colleagues learned from their extensive research into how Gen Zers, the most diverse generation yet , experience and understand the world.

Based on your research, can you briefly describe the typical Gen Zer?

In summary, a typical Gen Zer is a self-driver who deeply cares about others, strives for a diverse community, is highly collaborative and social, values flexibility, relevance, authenticity and non-hierarchical leadership, and, while dismayed about inherited issues like climate change, has a pragmatic attitude about the work that has to be done to address those issues.

How has growing up in an internet-connected society shaped how Gen Zers see and experience the world and everyday life?

Internet-related technologies have dramatically changed the speed, scale and scope of human communications, resulting in significant changes in how people work, play, shop, find friends and learn about other people. For Gen Zers living in the United States and Britain (the two places we studied), the “norm” they experienced as children was a world that operated at speed, scale and scope. They developed an early facility with powerful digital tools that allowed them to be self-reliant as well as collaborative. Similarly, because they could learn about people and cultures around the globe from an early age, they developed a greater appreciation for diversity and the importance of finding their own unique identities.

What do people most misunderstand or get wrong about Gen Zers?

For quite a while, people were critical of what they saw as a generation that was too coddled and “soft.” Gen Zers were called “snowflakes” and “unwilling to grow up.” But much of that negative judgment came from a misunderstanding of what it is like to grow up in today’s world when compared with how their elders grew up. As an example, Gen Zers have been criticized as lazy because they don’t have after-school or summer jobs. But many Gen Zers have been earning significant dollars online through a variety of activities, even including product placements on fashion-advice sites. Another example concerns drivers’ licenses: older people, for whom getting a driver’s license was a rite of passage toward adulthood, have criticized Gen Zers who do not rush to take their driver’s tests when they turn 16, but this criticism fails to consider that Gen Zers have no need to drive when they have ready access to ride services like Uber and Lyft.

Do you think Gen Zers get an undeserved bad rap?

Yes, but that is changing. Of late, many people are beginning to appreciate the strength and pragmatism of Gen Zers.

What were you most surprised to learn about Gen Zers?

Our biggest surprise came in response to this interview question: “What type of communication do you like best?” We expected the interviewees to respond with their favorite type of digital communication – e.g., text, email, chat group, DM, FaceTime, Skype, etc. – but instead nearly every single person said their favorite form of communication was “in person.”

As Gen Zers enter the workforce, what would be helpful for other generations to know about their post-millennial colleagues?

For those who are now experiencing Gen Zers in the workplace, my advice is to recognize that these new colleagues are used to working collaboratively and flexibly, with an eye to being efficient in getting the job done. They are pragmatic and value direct communication, authenticity and relevance. They also value self-care. They may be more likely than older people were when they were the age of the Gen Zers to question rules and authority because they are so used to finding what they need on their own. They are not always right; often they don’t know what they need, especially in a new setting, and this is where inter-generational dialogue can be so helpful. Both the older and the younger colleagues can learn from the other, in each case by listening with more respect, appreciation and trust. The older colleague can learn some helpful new ways of getting a job done, while the younger colleague may learn good reasons for why things have long been done in a certain way. Without that dialogue, we’ll have a wasteful tug of war between the past and the future. The goal is for older and younger generations to work together, with openness and trust, to ensure that the wisdom – but not what has become the excess baggage – of the past is not lost to the future.

How has studying Gen Zers changed your own interactions with this generation?

I came to understand that Gen Zers are, on the whole, much better adapted to life in a digital age than those of us who are older and that they can be very frustrated by what appear to them to be outdated and often irrelevant ways of doing things. As one simple example that we cite in the book, an older person would likely assume that any organization needs a set of officers, for that has been the norm in their experience, but a Gen Zer would say, from their lived experience, that there is no need to elect officers (or other leaders) if the group can accomplish its mission through online collaborations that take advantage of the participants’ diverse skills.

In my own interactions with Gen Zers, I am much more likely than I used to be to listen closely to what they say, and to refrain from making a judgment about their ideas, values and behaviors based on an assumption that they are wrong and I am right. They often do things differently, have some different values and have some different ideas about the future than I do, and I have come to appreciate and trust that they often have a new and better approach. Many of us who are older have a different understanding of how the world works, which is rooted in our own early experiences, so it’s easy for us to assume that the world will continue to operate in much the same way going forward and that the young people need to adapt to that older way of living. But the younger people are necessarily future-oriented, and as we all are increasingly coming to appreciate, the digital-age future is quite different from the industrial-age past.

For 13 years, Katz served under Stanford University Presidents John Hennessy and Marc Tessier-Lavigne as the associate vice president for strategic planning. She also served as President Tessier-Lavigne’s interim chief of staff until early 2017. Katz has been deeply involved in the facilitation of a variety of interdisciplinary research initiatives at Stanford, and she is a current member of the CASBS board of directors.

This research was funded by the Knight Foundation.

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What’s catching the eye of Gen Z? Here we look at the visual trends their habits are shaping

As creatives, we need to understand our audience. But as we grow older, it can be trickier to get inside the heads of younger generations. To help us out, the popular photo and video editing app Picsart has shared some useful and insightful research that's a real must-read.

Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels

Released to celebrate Picsart's 10th anniversary, this visual trends report has the skinny on the colours, styles and trends that Gen Z is responding to right now. And it might surprise you.

We're talking a dive back in time and being influenced by former generations from the 1970s to the rave-scene '90s, the rise and rise of digital tech, and the louder calls for a better world. Read on as we pull out the highlights that every creative needs to know about.

1. Modern Nostalgia

Nostalgia, somewhat ironically, ain't what it used to be. Once, it was as regular as clockwork: the decade before last was the one everyone referred to. Hence the 1970s was dominated by nostalgia for the Fifties; in the 1980s, everything harkened back to the Swinging Sixties, and so it continued.

However, today's always-on, everything-at-reach digital culture has propelled nostalgia into overdrive. Nowadays, we're more likely to see creatives pulling several strands of the past together into one image, and these synergies work brilliantly to capture the short attention spans of Generation Z.

"In the past, we've seen trends that harken back to a specific era, pulling in elements of trendy '80s or '90s graphic design styles," the report explains. "We saw it this year, particularly with the use of old user interfaces like Windows 95 or nostalgic Polaroid-Esque filters. Now we're seeing a mashup of it all."

"This rings true especially in music with new tracks from artists like The Weeknd, John Mayer, and Dua Lipa," it continues. "It's as if they're all giving us a new audio clip that never existed before, but somehow we feel nostalgic about it. It sounds familiar to us, and we love that familiarity."

In 2022, Picsart expects to see this modern nostalgia take hold in the visual world, too. "We're already starting to see it with album covers like Dua Lipa's album 'Future Nostalgia: Moonlight Edition' and The Weeknd's single 'Take my Breath'," they say.

2. The Metaverse

For better or for worse, digital technology is changing at a lightning pace right now. In the last two decades, we've seen Web 2.0, the smartphone revolution, and the explosion of social media. Each has transformed society at a fundamental level, and the next digital insurgency is on its way as we speak.

While the Metaverse hasn't arrived quite yet, the world's tech giants are determined to make it happen, and the headwinds behind it are already making a big impact on youth culture.

"The concept everyone is talking about right now, the Metaverse is basically a 3D virtual world filled with avatars of real people," the Picsart report explains. "Although the term was coined in 1992 in the novel Snow Crash, recent evolutions in technologies like NFTs, smart glasses, and even 3D Model influencers have spurred renewed talk of the metaverse."

Indeed, the very way we view ourselves as humans is changing in today's modern world. "We've seen a gradual shift from presenting online as yourself to a new reality where people can present as an avatar. A common everyday example of this is with the use of Memojis, where people can 'become' sharks, cows, or cartoon versions of themselves in a virtual world."

Specifically, Picsart has seen searches around virtual world game Toca World increase 1,614% and social avatar app 'imvu' increase 641%. "We predict this will continue to rise in popularity as more creators embrace the Metaverse," the report states.

3. Time for Teal

Colour, in general, is key to connecting with Gen Z, with the younger generation responding strongly to hues that are bright, vibrant and in-your-face. But Picsart has identified a particular colour trend you may not have noticed yet.

"In recent months, we've seen searches relating to teal and blue increase 101% with no signs of slowing," it says in its report. "And this makes sense! Teal creates a nice contrast from the brightness we saw in 2021, which included visual trends like the sunset lamp or projector edit. Teal also evokes an association with the digital world, like The Matrix or a system error interface."

"Teal is calming to the eye but still carries with it some of the characteristics of the popular bright and fun shades of 2021," the report continues. "So when looking at 2022 design trends, we'll definitely see more brands and creators gravitate toward teal and teal adjacent colours."

4. Inclusivity

For years, society paid lip service to diversity. But the same power structures held fast, and minorities and underrepresented groups still found it hard to get on the ladder. Now, finally, that's changing, and the younger generations are definitely at the vanguard of this social revolution.

"Gen Z and Millennials care deeply about representation and inclusivity in media," notes the Picsart report. "This demand isn't going anywhere. In fact, we've seen searches around gender inclusivity increase 237%, with terms like "trans flag' and 'gender fluid' being among the highest. As gender fluidity becomes more widely discussed, we predict that representation will only become more important in creative work."

5. Organic Digital

Gen Z is growing up in a world where almost all media is now digital. But despite (or perhaps because of) this, there's a yearning for the analogue, the physical, the real.

"Think of the organic feel of print material, old paper, or vintage film," says the report. "Organic Digital is the concept of emulating those things with digital tools. We see this often in Picsart with edits like ripped paper, film grain, bokeh, brush strokes, and the 'plastic wrap effect', which looks as if something is wrapped in bubble wrap, plastic, or laminated."

The phrase 'Torn Paper' saw a 909% increase in search in 2021, the report notes, with many creators implementing this ripped paper aesthetic in various creative ways. "We also saw usage of 'handwritten fonts' increase by 270%," they add. "All of this indicates creatives want the feeling of real and tangible and are emulating it through digital mediums."

6. Gothic Fonts

Typography is another great way that designers can connect with Gen Z. This younger generation has no hangups about material that gets playful with type. Indeed, it's often the case that the bigger and bolder, the better. In its report, Picsart makes a specific prediction of where font trends are heading in 2022.

"We can't talk about visual trends without talking about the lettering and typefaces we'll likely see more of in 2022," says the report. "Sans serif and serif fonts tend to rotate in popularity, but we predict that next year it will be all about the serif fonts, particularly Gothic fonts."

Also called Blackletter, Gothic fonts are known for their very ornate details. "These decorative fonts stem from old German manuscripts from the Middle Ages but are rising in popularity once again. Usage of Gothic fonts in Picsart has increased 270%, and we expect to see even more edits with this style into the new year."

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What This Teen Author Wants You To Know About The Power of Gen-Z

Illana Raia

“So I’m sitting down to write. And I’m 16 (as of now), but also have the world at my hands – and that’s the power of Gen-Z.” These words appear in the introduction of a forthcoming book about the often-discussed Gen-Z, and they land all the more firmly on the ear because of the author’s age – she will be seventeen at publication.  

Riya Goel is a high school senior from West Orange, New Jersey, a student-athlete and a self-described “intersectional feminist and racial justice activist changing the world one day at a time.” Like many teens during quarantine, she searched for an at-home project that could lead to widespread impact. She started interviewing peers who, in her opinion, were bringing meaningful change to the world despite their youth. Students like Ava McDonald (18), founder and CEO of marketing firm Zfluence , Ziad Ahmed (21), CEO and co-founder of JUV Consulting , and Matt Sarafa (23), one of the youngest fashion designers to appear in New York, Paris and Los Angeles at Fashion Week.

What Riya found was that the voices of Gen-Zers echoed louder than those speaking about Gen-Z. She felt frustrated that the articles she read describing her generation were rarely written by her generation. She opened her laptop and began to type. And a book started to take shape.

Knowing she had something to say, but recognizing that getting her words published would be costly, Riya approached authorship with the same ingenuity and networking skills that she had seen in those she interviewed. She set up an Indiegogo page, explained the concept of her book and established an online author community. Now fully funded by 75 backers and headed to print within weeks, The Gen-Z Book is ready to hit shelves by April.

Eager readers at Être, a mentorship platform for girls, wanted to know more and reached out to Riya with questions. Below is an edited version of that exchange:

What prompted you to write The Gen-Z Book and what was your first step? Over the summer, like any teenager, I was on social media. Through my seemingly endless scrolling, I kept finding #genz or really just mentions of Gen-Z all over social media. People were talking about Gen-Z and who we were, but as someone that is considered a Gen-Zer I had no idea what was going on. I never felt much meaning behind being a Gen-Zer before the global quarantine set in, either. So I did my research, and ironically didn’t find out as much online as I did from speaking with experts in the field and through doing additional research on social media. 

You divide the book into 4 distinct parts – can you explain a bit about each section? I want to preface this answer by stating that my book is extremely conversational. I wanted to make the book easy to read and something that didn’t feel like a task, or something that was too hard to understand. Because of this, I split the book to emulate how I would talk to a random person about Gen-Z.

Part 1 is titled, What is change and what is Gen-Z’s role in change? This section covers the history of youth and change, and why Gen-Z is set at the forefront of change. Part 1 goes into why Gen-Z is going to be a pivotal generation for the world, and why people should care about Gen-Z.  Part 2 is titled, What’s so unique about us? (with stories ofc!) and how does Gen-Z do things differently? This section is the main chunk of the book, with large topics as chapter titles that take information from interviews I’ve conducted and with a little bit of my own experience sprinkled in. I talk about topics from tech to collective trauma, what’s going on with Gen-Z and what makes us special. Part 3 is titled, Gen-Z is pretty cool. But what does that mean and what do we do now? Here, I address the audience. I write about what Gen-Z needs to do to make change in the world, and how each group of readers (from parents to CEOs), can help make that change working as allies with Gen-Z. Part 4 is titled, Peace out. This is (hopefully) what you learned. This is a wrap up of everything that I’ve said. A recap, of sorts, that summarizes why Gen-Z matters and why you should care about what Gen-Z does.

The youth movement has always been at the forefront of social change, and Gen-Z is clearly leading the charge today. What is it about the world’s current issues that makes our voices crucial right now? I believe that we are at the intersection of a lot of issues, and I think that we have the ability to amplify the voices of youth and advocates internationally, bringing a global, diverse perspective to the field of advocacy and activism. We’re able to share more information, points of views and stories through technology, and we’re able to survive a global pandemic by taking our work virtual.

This speaks to the power of our generation and the adaptability that we have. We are able to take large, complex issues, and tackle them head-on, while still keeping an intersectional lens in mind when approaching such issues. I think that is what is special about Gen-Z.  Riya Goel

For teens who want to have an impact now, what is your advice about how to get started? Get on Google! There is no reason why anyone, no matter who you are, can’t bring change to today’s world. With a few clicks you can learn about different topics and – staying safe and using smart precautions – you can sign up with different organizations to learn even more. You can direct message the organization to see how you might get involved in their work, and you can raise awareness on social media. There are countless ways to have an impact today, and all you need is a little bit of research and initiative to make it happen. 

What was the biggest (or most unexpected) challenge regarding the book process? Writing it! This is expected, but it was hard for me, as a student who’s really used to formal papers and AP guidelines, to get out of my comfort zone and write something so conversational. Incorporating pieces from interviews into my own voice as a writer was tough as well, and, really, just making sure that everything made sense!

Bonus Q: If you had to pick one message for readers to take away from your book, what would it be? I would say: pay attention to Gen-Z. And if you’re not a Gen-Zer, find ways to work with Gen-Z to appeal to that audience. Gen-Z is the largest and most diverse generation to date. That last line holds meaning. It means that Gen-Z is going to be changing the world, not only in terms of social issues, but through our consumer habits, policies, and businesses in the future. 

We feel the world changing already, with teen authors like Riya bringing their voices forward and sharing stories of their inspiring peers. Riya says that she “wants to let the world know the power that lies in Gen-Z, and how other generations need to talk to and understand Gen-Z in order to work with them to make the world a better place.”

The world is listening, Riya.

Keep writing.

You may opt out or contact us anytime.

Zócalo Podcasts

The New Faces of Climate Justice

My environmental students are diverse, motivated, and love humanity, but the more they learn, the more they despair.

Illustration by Be Boggs .

by Sarah Jaquette Ray | July 22, 2020

According to polls, Generation Z—people born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s—share some startling characteristics. Surveys show that they are more lonely, depressed, and suicidal than any previous generation. They are more likely than earlier generations to be economically poorer than their parents, and they are the first generation expected to live shorter lives than their parents. As the most ethnically diverse generation of Americans, they care deeply about racial justice and are leading the George Floyd protests . They also led the largest climate strikes in 2019. Indeed, this generation seems to combine their efforts for both racial and climate justice for the first time in history.

But my experience of this generation, as a college professor of environmental studies, centers on another salient quality: Young people aren’t just motivated by climate change, they are downright traumatized by it. They are freaked out about the future of our planet, with a sense of urgency most of the rest of us haven’t been able to muster. This has profound political implications: Young people like my students are committed to making our world a better place. It’s my job, I’ve begun to think, to make sure that people in this “climate generation” don’t get swallowed up in an ocean of despair along the way.

The Gen Z students I am teaching now are different from those I’ve taught for 12 years. The students who used to choose environmental studies as a major, even as recently as five years ago, were often white outdoorsy types, idealistic, and eager to righteously educate the masses about how to recycle better, ride bikes more, eat locally, and reduce the impact of their lifestyles on the planet. They wanted to get away from the messiness of society and saw “humanity” as destroying nature.

By contrast, my Generation Z students care a lot more about humans. They flock to environmental studies out of a desire to reconcile humanity’s relationship with nature, an awareness that humanity and nature are deeply interconnected, and a genuine love for both. They are increasingly first-generation, non-white, and motivated to solve their communities’ problems by addressing the unequal distribution of environmental costs and benefits to people of color. They work with the Movement for Black Lives, Indigenous sovereignty groups fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline, and organizations that dismantle barriers to green space, such as Latino Outdoors. Unlike my students from earlier days of teaching, this generation isn’t choosing environmental studies to escape humanity; on the contrary, they get that the key to saving the environment is humanity.

It’s a vision of wholeness and hope—but it comes with a dark side. Digging into environmental studies introduces young people to the myriad ways that our interconnectedness in the world leads to all kinds of problems. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports predict that climate change and habitat destruction will increase the spread of infectious disease; climate also exacerbates health disparities between white and African American people in the U.S., including Black women’s pregnancy risks . Studying these sources makes it clear that the devastations of climate change will be borne unequally.

Some of my students become so overwhelmed with despair and grief about it all that they shut down. Youth have historically been the least likely to vote; but I’ve also seen many stop coming to lectures and seminars. They send depressed, despairing emails. They lose their bearings, question their relationships and education, and get so overwhelmed by a sense of powerlessness that they barely pass their classes. One of my students became so self-loathing that she came to think the only way to serve the planet was to stop consuming entirely: reducing her environmental impact meant starving herself. Most young people I know have already decided not to have children, because they don’t want their kids growing up on a doomed planet. They barely want to be alive themselves. They often seem on the brink of nihilism before we even cover the syllabus.

The young people I am teaching say they will bear the worst consequences of processes they did not initiate, and over which they have little or no control. They speak of an apocalypse on the horizon. My students say they do not expect to enjoy the experiences older adults take for granted—having children, planning a career, retiring. For many youth, climate disruption isn’t a hypothetical future possibility; it is already here. They read the long predicted increases in extreme weather events, wildfires, sea level rise, habitat destruction, worsening health outcomes related to pollution, and infectious disease as clear signs that their worst fears will be realized not just in their lifetime, but right now .

This sense of doom is more widely felt, beyond college classrooms. Psychologists and environmental scholars are coming up with a whole new vocabulary to describe these feelings of despair, including solastalgia , climate anxiety , eco-grief , pre-traumatic stress , and psychoterratic illness .

Whatever one calls it, all of this uncertainty can immobilize young people when they feel they can do nothing to fix it. Their sense of powerlessness, whether real or imagined, is at the root of their despair. I have found that many young people have limited notions of how power works. My students associate “power” with really bad things, like fascism, authoritarianism, or force; or slightly less bad things like celebrity, political power, or wealth. They have little imagination about how to engage in social change, and even less imagination about the alternative world they would build if they could.

Without a sense of efficacy—the feeling of having control over the conditions of their lives—I fear some may give up on the difficult process of making change without even trying. Psychologists call this misleading feeling of helplessness the “ pseudoinefficacy effect ,” and it has a political dimension that may keep individuals from working to help others. This feeling may also sync up with Americans’ recent cultural and economic history of seeing ourselves as consumers. Some scholars have argued that limiting our ability to imagine ourselves as having agency beyond being consumers has resulted in the “ privatization of the imagination .” The combination of the feeling of misplaced despair and the feeling that they can only make changes through lifestyle choices creates a sort of ideological box that blocks real democratic political change.

Meanwhile, there is very little in the mass media to suggest that young people have real power over changes in the climate at large—or even our political system. The 24/7 news cycle thrives when it portrays a world on fire . And mainstream media offers few stories about solutions or models for alternative, regenerative economies. The stories that are covered often only tackle technological or market solutions that have yet to be invented or produced. By portraying climate change as a problem that is too big to fix, and suggesting that the contributions of any single individual are too small to make a difference, these messages leave young people with little sense of what can be done. Amid the clamor of apocalyptic coverage, few are talking about what it would take to thrive in, instead of fear, a climate-changed future.

We cannot afford for the next generation of climate justice leaders’ dread to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Their psychological resources of resilience, imagination, efficacy, and, against all odds, their fierce capacity for joy, are just as necessary for the future of a viable planet as natural resources like clean air and water. Activists and teachers of my generation must help Gen Z learn to push on the levers of technical, political, cultural, and economic change, and to draw on existential tools or “ deep adaptation ” in times of crisis.

There’s hope in the images on the streets and on social media: Today’s protests against police brutality are a testament to young people’s power and evidence of their commitment to their future. It isn’t an especially large leap from fighting a racist justice system to improving the planet; indeed, many in this generation see them as inextricably connected—that’s the point. And the rapid and radical changes that society has undertaken in response to COVID-19 is further evidence that change is possible. Humans can sacrifice and make collective changes to protect others—hopefully, in these difficult weeks, my students will be able to see that.

The trauma of being young in this historical moment will shape this generation in many ways. The rest of us have a lot to learn from them. And we would do well to help them see that their grief and despair are the other side of love and connection, and help them to channel that toward effective action. For their sake and that of the planet, we need them to feel empowered to shape and desire their future. They have superpowers unique to their generation. They are my antidote to despair.

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The Humorous, Absurd, Plural, and Defiant Story of Generation Z

Credit: Viet Raider-Hoàng

Strategy Director Viet Raider-Hoàng explores the many lessons we can learn from Gen Z—the people, not the consumers.

Planet Earth, Year 2020

Mass wildfires stain the sky dusty red. Voluminous and blood-flecked clouds flood the highway, till the horizon dissolves into nothingness.

A crown-shaped virus spreads destruction through a network of hyper-connectivity, ironically, concocted by its very own victims: humans.

The world finds itself in entrapment, simultaneously, opening up its cracks: hatred emerges, unfounded narratives gain popularity, inequalities exacerbate.

There are reports of inexplicable activities carried out by groups of modern youths. Rapping provocative songs. Dancing in grocery shops. Dressing in non-existent clothes. Picking up tear gas canisters with their bare hands while protesting against the regime. These young adults make the world look, and surely, question.

The cynics think they are acting out. The capitalists lease their mission. The optimists claim they will change the world. Whilst their full motive and courses of action remain studied, the public settles on a working label, referring to this new wave of beings:

Generation Z.

Accounting for 35% of the global population, and representing a $143B of spending power, Generation Z—people born between 1995 and 2012— is the subject of many analyses and reports. These studies have done a remarkable job unpacking how GenZ’s ideologies and behaviors noticeably diverge from their predecessors.

Contributing to this ever-growing body of work, I aspire to offer something different. Deviating from analyzing signals and making predictions, I want to tell a story; a story about Generation Z, their journey to popular discourse, and how they transpire our lives, both physically and virtually.

This essay is, first and foremost, a narration of the many lessons we can learn from GenZers—the people, not the consumers. Secondly, it is a personal investigation against the grandeur I hold about my generation, the Millennials.

“Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed.” —Bob Marley

One defining aspect of GenZ that underpins their development, and heightens their reality is their mighty access to information. Compartmentalized into seconds of moving images, 140 character tweets, and memes, a series of information snapshots is designed to keep GenZ “in-touch” and “in-tune.”

Images via ABC, National Geographic, New York Times, CBC.CA, foref-europe.org, Togiblog.com

On the surface, amassing these information nuggets seems benign. But, as you dig deeper, you’ll start to see how this constant, direct window to the world has contributed to the subliminal “ world-weariness ” that permeates the mood of this generation.

Originally coined by the German author Jean-Paul, world-weariness (or Weltschmerz) denotes a sense of internal dysphoria between one’s actuality and one’s ideal image of the world. In the 1800s, this phenomenon was partly popularized due to the increased awareness of the world decay and the aristocracy post-Industrial Revolution.

Billie Eilish’s “world-weariness” aesthetic and songs speak to the subliminal anxiety of her generation. Image via @Aamirah_salie, VEVO/ Billie Eilish’s MV: “bury a friend.”

Fast forward two centuries later, world-weariness made its comeback to modernity thanks to the formation of a new society where information is industrialized, removed from context, and readily available at the hand of 10-year-olds . “Zoomers” today possess power akin to an all-knowing immortal with rechargeable access to endless information, but such power is also granted with the burden of acute awareness, and in turn, weariness.

Against this backdrop of modern decadence—where identities polarize discourse, nature preservation remains as talking points, and facts have alternatives—Generation Z took it upon themselves to endure weariness, cultivate resilience, spread joy, and make changes.

Distributively, yet coherently, four imperatives of their generation emerge:

• Galvanize with humor
• Connect through realness
• Decentralize and multiply culture
• Revolt and rejoice

1. Galvanize with humor

If internet-enabled third spaces like Discord, TikTok, or Fortnite constitute the new social architecture of GenZ’s lives, sarcasm is the invisible thread that ties together the fabric of their culture.

Derived from the Greek word “sarkasmos,” which stands for “biting the lip in rage,” sarcasm, despite its mockery and at times, nonsensical nature, is a concept that has roots in resistance and carries a subversive undertone.

Like the Jesters in a medieval court, Zoomers employ sarcasm to satirize the struggle of their times, simultaneously upending the “everything is fine” attitude that enables their forerunners’ complacency. To grasp the simultaneity of GenZ’s humor, it’s helpful to experience it:

TikTok video via @matti_harrington

In a theatrical and parodied intonation, Matti —a 23-year-old—delivers a satirical narration of a real and lived hate crime. Social commentary comedy is not new, but humor coated shots of reality, like this TikTok, are a signature means of vocalizing for GenZ on the internet.

And just as poignant and indicative these vignettes are about our world, this approach to harnessing weariness also points toward another developing trait of this generation: resilience . The correlation between humor and resilience has been well studied and suggested in psychology papers and social studies worldwide. In “ stitching ” and “ duetting ” with one another’s hilarity, GenZ turns humor into a dispersed system of social support that helps them endure the strife of their times.

GenZ lives and shares their truths, even if the truth is ugly. And through this digital network of satirized pains and unapologetic truths, GenZ shows us the problematic facets of the world that we have turned our back against.

2. Connect through realness

Social media and its derivative reality-touch-up apps have helped create a “ billions dollar worth ” of a “ FOMO ” economy, and herald in an era of aspirational conformity.

While the actual life of luxury remains exclusive, its aesthetic, with assistance from the army of modern QVC personalities that are “ influencers ,” makes its way to social media, setting constructs and “inspiring” purchases.

Growing up disillusioned of Instagram-engineered constructs, and algorithm that favors visual obedience over “oddity,” GenZ rejects the aesthetic of perfection. Enacting the antithesis to past ideals, GenZ infiltrates homogeneous social feeds with realness, stretching conventional expression to its two extremities:

Raw and Expressive.

GenZ idealizes visual oddity and aestheticizes imperfection. Image via Instagram/@chinventures /@beckiboobi

GenZ’s expressions and creations are intentionally messy, blurry, and at times,“ ugly .” When their content is edited, it's so that they look slightly off, if not completely wacky. Whereas the top-down angle is millennial’s go-to selfie pose, GenZers often take photos of themselves from the chin up while shortening their necks and smiling with half their faces.

Image via TikTok/ @islagemini, @afroxlatino, @eyesrodgers, @austinpayton

GenZ embraces the expressive, gender flouting, and “most is more” “aesthetic, spearheaded and exemplified by queers and trans femmes of color. As a group of youths that inherits the fruits of civil activism before their generation, Zoomers grow up with more visibility of queerness and a more positive outlook on “differences” than their predecessors.

Bypassing the idea of mere acceptance, GenZ glorifies “personal quirks” and “marginality.” In fabulous gowns, bodily spandex, glitter showers, and genderless garments, GenZ commands a fierce desire to own and to make their identities known.

Regardless of medium and expression, the true key to GenZ’s hearts is realness. And as they dethrone the homogeneous notion of aspiration, GenZ positions radical relatability—connecting through differences—as the ideological driver of their culture.

3. Decentralize and multiply culture

The manufacturing and broadcasting of “popular culture” since the coinage of the term has historically been at the disposal of brands and media. While cultural creations exist well beyond consumerism, they gain popularity when they are seen in advertisements, and become iconic when they power the images for brands like Nike or Apple .

In his book “Cultural Theory and Popular Culture,” John Storey, a cultural study professor at the University of Sunderland, describes this relationship by defining pop culture as “negotiated.”

“Pop culture is negotiated: partly imposed on by the dominant classes, and partly resisted or changed by the subordinate classes.” — John Storey

In his 1993 definition, popular culture is a top-down, centralized, and binary concept.

This has changed.

The rise of social media and mass smartphone adoption has undoubtedly assisted people—the so-called “subordinates”—to wrest back the power of making, distributing, and driving culture.

It is impossible to talk about culture without talking about the immense contribution of Black Culture to the make up the world's ethnology. To examine this cultural shift, it helps to take a brief look at the distribution of Black Culture then, and now.

Throughout history, Black arts—from music to fashion—has made its way to mainstream media primarily through appropriation and commodification . This process dilutes the message, obscures the origin, and isolates the arts from their creators. Mark Anthony Neal, Chair of The Department of African & African-American studies at Duke University, explains that it allows society to embrace Blackness without embracing Black people.

Fresh Kid, a Ugandan eight-year-old rapper becomes popular on YouTube by his social commentary songs. Image via YouTube.

Today, Fresh Kid, an eight-year-old rapper from Uganda, can share his rap about poverty on YouTube and become a national sensation . Natalie McGriff , a seven-year-old, can design, publish, and sell her own children's book on positive images of young girls of color.

The internet and the rise of platforms like TikTok, Twitch, GIPHY, and more, have helped—albeit with plenty of shortcomings —creators of color worldwide take more control of making, sharing, and owning their expressions.

As culture decentralizes, platforms also evolve.

Starting in June 2020, TikTok started to add " irrelevant " content in its users' feeds to make space for differences and promote diversity of thoughts. In November 2020, Snapchat announced its Spotlight program. Each day, users can submit their Snaps to "Spotlight" for the Snapchat community to pick their favorite. Top picked creators can earn a share of the daily $1M price.

Due to this distributive nature of culture and tech, experts argue that the mass market is slowly turning into micro-markets, demographics are splitting into ethos-led communities, and mass cultural hype, as we knew it, might soon be a thing of the past.

The decentralization of culture also happens within the self.

Image via Twitter / @tyisha369 @_kateyclark

Generation Z views social media with skepticism and employs tactics to put a leash on these platforms. In this modern epic of "GenZ versus The Algorithm," GenZ pluralizes their identities and distributes them across the multiverse of digital third spaces.

These days, Zoomers perform on Instagram, caricaturize on Finstagram (fake Instagram), collaborate on Discord, discourse on TikTok, fantasize in Animal Crossing, and organize grass-root movements using various messaging apps.

GenZ rotates between disparate roles, identities, and ideals in each of these micro-universes, while presenting different parts of themselves to varying audiences, peers, and collaborators. By being everywhere, yet nowhere, GenZ anonymizes their beings, controls their narratives, and defies demographical norms.

GenZ embraces all adhering and contradicting selves of their identities. This profound power over the self gives them the power to multiply culture from the inside, and reject top-down monotony.

4. To revolt and rejoice

The head-turning Greta Thunberg . Nigeria's astutely coordinated #SARSMustEnd Movement. Namibia's Anti-Femicide Protest . The George Floyd Protests . Immense vocality and activism are some of the most written-about traits of Generation Z.

While it can be easy for these insurgencies to captivate us, they can just as quickly cause dismissal as the youths' episodic mischief-making. However, the ways that young people bring about change in the world begs to differ. Endowed with technological prowess and lessons from past movements, Generation Z's modern change-making is judicious, multifaceted, and joyous.

Image via Kyodo News, Rest of World, Climate Change News, Vox/ Omar Marques

GenZ's activism's judiciousness starts with the expansion of " Ground Zero " to the digital realm. Today's grassroots movements often start online before they manifest themselves on the street. While online forums and social media provide young activists a space to orchestrate their work, Internet products like crowdfunding sites help them gather financial support to sustain their movements.

During Namibia’s anti-gender-based-violence movement, activists use unrestricted Google Docs to further expands their campaign agenda.

LIHKG.com is a website that helps Hong Kong activists organize activities in anonymity. A button in the settings window allows users to mask the site under a fake Excel sheet, which allows activists to use the site at work.

The thoroughness of GenZ's activism also shows in their acknowledgment of individual change enactment. This awareness of personal activism lends itself to their changing relationship with money. Referred to as " the leaders of speaking with their dollars ," GenZ view money as a means to their end— identity expression and change-making—not the end itself. GenZ is using their money to support small businesses and elevate brands that champion local heritage and values around the world.

"If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution." — Emma Goldman

As a generation that understands the power of viral content, GenZ expresses resistance through lyrical verbiage , spoken poetry, meme-able catchphrases, and dance challenges: a phenomenon, I've started calling joyous activism.

While skeptics might label these tactics as " slacktivism ", in reality, online joyous activism is key to amplifying change. A 2015 survey by YPulse shows that 62% of young people believe they can make their voices hear more online than offline. Another study in 2020 from Reach3 Insights shows that TikTok users are more likely to attend a Black Lives Matter protest than non-TikTok-users.

Rhythmic, and poetic, "Buhari...has been a bad boy" becomes the anthem of the #SARSMustEnd Movement. Video via YouTube

By leaning on the melodically sticky language of the internet, GenZ infiltrates the attention economy , spreading and evangelizing their cause.

Another significance of these feel-good dance moves and catchy tunes is the mere fact that they feel good. Protesting and demanding systemic change is as hard as, if not harder, than it sounds. Joyous activism offers the intermittent relief and refuels that change-making demands. In an interview with Huck Magazine , Ben Smoke, an activist, puts this beautifully:

“You cannot but try. And if you can’t find joy in the trying, you won’t find joy in standing up for what is right and what should be happening." — Ben Smoke

The story of Generation Z is a story of revolution and rejoice.

Despite their time's weariness, GenZ bravely weaves positivity in the fabric of their lives. This shared sentiment subsequently becomes the engine that kindles their resistance to old values while powering their reimagination of the world today.

No, GenZ is not going to save us.

If this narration of GenZ—with their world-changing imperatives—might sound like a fantasy, it is because, in a way, it is.

This essay is a personal narrative. One that starts as a celebration of Generation Z's audacious ingenuity and creativity but slowly and dangerously resembles a sort of responsibility abdication rally.

"You all come to us young people for hope, how dare you." — Greta Thunberg

If this essay makes you feel hopeful about the future, I am glad. If this essay alludes you into thinking that the future is redeemed and guaranteed by GenZ's good deeds, then let me be clear:

Generation Z is not saving us.

They are fighting for their lives, putting their backs against the fallout of past generations' doings. GenZers are both the heroes of our times and the victims of their circumstances. Their imperatives are as self-imposed as they are inescapable.

"GenZers are both heroes of our times and victims of their circumstances."

Behind the memes, the jokes, and the dances are a generation with growing mental health conditions . The other side of a sarcastic video on TikTok might reveal a victim of discrimination. With every word of appraisal for embracing self-truth, an equally substantial act of abuse emerges. Any advance in liberation can instigate even more devious suppression.

The fight between "old constructs" and "new values" for a better future is hardly a fair-fight, and its outcome is anything but guaranteed. GenZ might be giving this fight their all, but at this moment in the timeline of change-making, they aren't the ones who hold immediate power and resources.

We, the millennials, the Gen Xers, and yes, the Boomers. We, whose negligence has created the modern dystopia Zoomers inherited. We, whose prejudices and old-habits still give novelty to "the ways things have always been done." And we, whose resources steer the direction of innovation and dictate its beneficiaries.

The next 9 years will be critical. Every action that we take—both collectively and individually—can help us either curb the speed of destruction or vastly accelerate it.

With their authenticity and activism, Generation Z has awoken the world's consciousness and set change-making in motion. It is our duty—more urgently now than ever—to shoulder their weight and help preserve and nurture this world.

Our life comprises the narratives we tell ourselves and the actions we take in the name of them. If you have made it this far in the essay, there is one thing that I'd like to ask.

I ask if you can consider this essay a narrative, in the name of which, you can take a simple act of questioning:

If GenZ were destined to fulfill the 4 imperatives bestowed upon them,

“What is then our role in realizing this prophecy?”

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Dear Generation Z:

Journalists Are Being Killed, and With Them Our Access to Information

I am part of ‘Gen Z’, a generation known for our organisation around climate change. Yet there is a larger challenge that many of our societies are facing that we don’t often talk about; which is the endangerment of our freedom of speech and the protection of journalists. This issue connects to a critical issue we care about: the state of our environment and the threats it faces, which journalists are often the ones to uncover , so if journalists don’t report on these with freedom, how will they become known?

As an undergraduate who cares deeply about this issue and part of the competition for the first-ever Ignitor Fellowship at the Nobel Peace Center, I was attending the Nobel Days in Oslo last week. This year, Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, two journalists who courageously work to protect freedom of expression and democracy, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The opportunity to be surrounded by such brilliant and brave people was surreal to me, and I am humbled and in awe of their accomplishments.

In 2016, the UNESCO reported a jarring global average: a journalist is killed every five days for bringing information to the public. In this profession, people are assaulted and killed while they are doing a public service by trying to inform us. We live in an era where journalists are facing large amounts of violence and oppression: in nine out of 10 cases which UNESCO investigates of confirmed murders of journalists , the perpetrators remain unpunished . This impunity that enables the abuse against this sector of our society who are simply doing their jobs must be addressed.

From January to June of this year, there were 362 aggressions against journalists and media in my home country of Mexico. That is the equivalent to one journalist being assaulted every 12 hours. And throughout the world, this is even worse for women: 73% of women journalists have experienced online violence. Even writing about this topic as a university student, I sometimes worry that my words will be distorted; that I will put myself at risk by pointing out the ways we are failing journalists.

Through my research into anti-corruption I learned how journalists that investigate such problems continue to be at risk. According to the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, most corruption crimes in Mexico aren’t punished . Journalism can be used as an anti-corruption mechanism , for instance by bringing cases of corruption to light. However, for this to be possible, whistle-blowers who inform journalists need to be protected, and journalists need to have the safety necessary to feel comfortable carrying out investigations and publishing them.

As someone who cares about this issue, I hope to see widespread and effective legislation and policy-making targeted at the protection of people’s freedom of speech and justice against those who threaten it. Our leaders and politicians need to enable the creation of settings where we as citizens are not tolerant of the instances of corruption reported in our countries. In 2017, a survey by the NGO Transparency International found that 51% of respondents have paid a bribe in order to access basic public services in Mexico. I hope to one day live in a country where corruption isn’t the norm.

The state of journalism in our respective societies is a reflection of our democratic systems. Democracies are characterised by equal and effective opportunities to learn about alternatives and consequences of political decisions. A free press becomes a symbol of democracy when it can provide the necessary information for citizens to engage in debate and form opinions.

In societies where we are plagued by an oppressive system and networks of actors which enable the abuse of journalists, this can lead to self-censorship among citizens themselves and the inability to make informed decisions. The targeting of journalists not only represents a lack of freedom of speech to a degree that can end in death, but it is also an infringement of citizens’ right to information.

So, what do we do as young people who feel overwhelmed by the lack of protection for journalists? We must become aware of the situations that journalists face, and demand accountability from our leaders to uphold press freedom. We must, even if it’s painful, look within our own countries and what the situation is like for our journalists. We must start having conversations about the wrongs done to the people who are just searching for the truth. We should stay informed, and demand these rights to be respected because it is in our own favour to be aware and informed, to criticise, and to obtain the truth.

When I graduate in six months, I head into a world that disappoints me. The list ofglobal issues to work on seems to be infinite, and among us, Gen Z, I feel an increasing restlessness to take on the world and ‘fix it.’

There is much to be done, yet I still have hope. I think of my home, of my beautiful Mexico and the people in it, the warm and festive culture that I love, and I know that things can be better. Organisations like the Nobel Peace Center can show us that there is still hope, that as young people we can aspire to make big things happen, to feel empowered and able to raise our voices, to think, to talk, and to write. Your voice matters, and someone out there will listen, so open your eyes,think of what matters to you, and speak out. I’m ready to start a dialogue, are you?

This essay is a short version of the winner essay Natalia Sobrino-Saeb wrote for the essay competition launched by the Ignitor Fellowship Programme at the Nobel Peace Center. The fellowship works to honor youth who are committed to promoting democracy and dialogue.

The Year of Endurance

Hope and uncertainty amid a pandemic that wouldn’t end.

In 2021, the pandemic forced us all to think hard about who we do and don’t trust

Introduction by david rowell.

As a nation, we are supposed to be built around trust. Look at the back of the bills in your wallet. “In God We Trust.”

Trust the system.

Trust yourself.

Trust but verify.

Trust your instincts.

Love may be the emotion we like to think ultimately propels us, but it’s trust that informs how we go about our daily lives. And yet. Our level of trust, our very foundation, has been crumbling for a long time now. Scandals, abuse and corruption in the major pillars of our society — religious institutions, education, business, military, government, health care, law enforcement, even the sports world — have made us a wary people.

When the pandemic came, first as murmurs that were easy to tune out, then as an unbounded crisis we couldn’t tune into enough, our relationship to trust was newly infected with something we didn’t fully understand. And before long, who and what we trusted — or didn’t — in the form of elected leaders, scientists and doctors became one more cause of death here and all over the world. In this way, distrust was a kind of pandemic itself: widely contagious and passed by the mouth.

As the first American casualties of covid-19 were announced, President Trump kept insisting it would disappear “with the heat” or “at the end of the month” or “without a vaccine.” Like a disgraced, fringe science teacher, he entertained this idea at one coronavirus news conference: “I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning?” With leadership like this, the country was receiving an injection — of chaos.

The pandemic ripped through the rest of 2020, and America was not only more splintered than ever, but also a dangerous place to be. Some politicians declared to the public, “I trust the science,” as if that were an unprecedented and heroic stance.

As we navigated our way into 2021, questions about what to believe led — painfully and predictably — to doubts about the most reliable way we had to stay safe: wearing masks. With the return to schools looming, the debate about masks and children — masks as protectors, or masks as educational folly — played out like a plague of rants. No one seemed to trust others to do the right thing anymore, whatever that was. By summer’s end, trust felt like the latest variant to avoid.

Trust takes lots of forms, but can we actually see it in a photograph the way we can identify a cloud or a wave, or an overt moment of joy or sadness? The photo essays that follow capture a full tableau of human responses in year two of the pandemic — trepidation, but also a sense of renewal; celebration, but caution as well. And despite rancor and confusion still being in as steady supply as the vaccine itself, the permutations of trust have their own presence here, too, if we’re open enough to seeing them.

When Jay Wescott went on tour with rock band Candlebox, he was documenting one of the many performing acts that returned to the road this summer, after the long hiatus. On tour there’s a lot variables you can control, and just as many, if not more, that you can’t — and in the time of covid, control and trust form their own essential but perilous interplay. The picture of the band’s drummer, Robin Diaz, who is vaccinated but unmasked, setting up his kit in such proximity to road manager Carlos Novais, vaccinated and masked, not only captures that still-odd dynamic that goes into making any live performance happen right now; it is also a welcome contrast to all the images of masked and unmasked protesters screaming at each other about what and whom to trust. On tour with Candlebox, Westcott observed how trust is carrying the band forward, creating harmonies on and off the stage.

Much farther away, in Michael Robinson Chavez’s pictures from Sicily, we bear witness to religious celebrations as part of saint’s days, which were canceled last year because of the pandemic. The celebrations resumed, though stripped down, this September, with vaccines readily available, but then, as Chavez notes, the people of Sicily were vaccinated at lower numbers than those in other regions of the country. In one image, we see a tuba player, his mask down below his chin as he blows his notes out into the world. Behind him are masked adults and maskless children. And, perhaps all through the festival, a trust in God to watch over them.

Lucía Vázquez trained her lens on the eager crowds of young women who descended upon Miami, a city known for its own style of carnival-type celebrations, though decidedly less holy ones. These women have left masks out of their outfits and are trusting something not quite scientific and not quite political, but more personal: their guts. Such a calculation comes down to a conviction that either you won’t get the coronavirus, or, if you do, you’ll survive. It means placing a lot of trust in yourself.

As a visual meditation, the pictures in this issue offer a portrait of a historical moment in which trust and distrust have defined us. Ultimately, the photographs that follow, reflecting various realities of the pandemic, are tinted with hope that we can reclaim our lives. Not exactly as they were in the past, but in a way that still resembles how we had once imagined them for the future. These images remind us that even in our fractured, confused and suffering world, it remains possible that where we can find trust again, we can be healed.

Ready to Rock

Unmasked fans and mayflies: on tour with the band candlebox, text and photographs by jay westcott.

I n February 2020, after a dear friend passed away (not from covid), all I could think about was getting on the road with a band so I could lose myself in the work and create something that would bring joy to people. The world had other plans, though.

Sixteen months later, I headed out on tour with Candlebox. Almost 30 years has passed since the Seattle hard-rock group released its debut album and saw it sell more than 4 million copies. Frontman Kevin Martin and his current lineup invited me along to document the first part of their tour. I packed up my gear, drove west, and met the band at Soundcheck, a rehearsal and gear storage facility in Nashville, as they prepared for the tour.

Whenever people learn that I photograph musicians, inevitably they ask me what it’s like on a tour bus. I tell people it’s like camping with your co-workers from the office where you all sleep in the same tent. For weeks on end. That sours their midlife fantasies about digging out that guitar from the garage and hitting the road to become a rock star.

The people who do tour and play music, build the sets, mix the sound, sell the merch and lug the gear night after night are some of the hardest-working people I’ve ever met. They are a special breed of artists, deep thinkers, poets, masters of their instruments. Music has the ability to make you move and stop you in your tracks, to change your mood, make you smile, cry, think. The goal is the same: Put on a great show. Every night. Play like it could be your last show.

It’s easy to sit back and armchair quarterback on social media about the risks of holding festivals and rock concerts amid the pandemic, but this is what people do for a living. Few people buy albums or CDs or even download music anymore. It’s all about streaming and grabbing viewers on social media now. Touring and merch sales are about the only way musicians have to make money these days. Music is meant to be performed in front of people, a shared experience. With everybody on the bus vaccinated and ready to go, we headed to Louisville for the first of a 49-show run.

The crowd of mostly older millennials and GenXers were ready for a rock show. They knew all the words to the hits in the set — especially Candlebox’s mega-hit from the ’90s, “Far Behind” — and were into the band’s new songs too. It felt good. Then came the mayflies, in massive swarms.

The next stop on the tour was a festival along the Mississippi River in Iowa. I was up early, and as soon as we pulled in you could see mayflies dancing in the air all around us. As the day wore on, the flies intensified, and by nightfall any kind of light revealed hundreds upon hundreds of them, dancing in their own way like the crowd of unmasked fans below them. Also there were Confederate flags everywhere. Boats tied together on the river flew Trump flags in the warm summer breeze.

I was asleep when we crossed the river and made our way to St. Louis, the third stop on the tour and my last with the band. A great crowd: Close your eyes and you can easily picture yourself at Woodstock ’94. But it’s 2021 and Kevin Martin and company are still here.

Jay Westcott is a photographer in Arlington.

‘He Gave Me Life’

A cuban single mother reflects on isolation with her son, text and photographs by natalia favre.

S ingle mother Ara Santana Romero, 30, and her 11-year-old son, Camilo, have spent the past year and a half practically isolated in their Havana apartment. Just before the pandemic started, Camilo had achieved his biggest dream, getting accepted into music school. Two weeks after classes began, the schools closed and his classes were only televised. A return to the classroom was expected for mid-November, at which point all the children were scheduled to be vaccinated. According to a UNICEF analysis, since the beginning of the pandemic, 139 million children around the world have lived under compulsory home confinement for at least nine months.

Before the pandemic, Ara had undertaken several projects organizing literary events for students. After Havana went into quarantine and Camilo had to stay home, her days consisted mainly of getting food, looking after her son and doing housework. As a single mother with no help, she has put aside her wishes and aspirations. But Ara told me she never regretted having her son: “He gave me life.”

Natalia Favre is a photographer based in Havana.

Life After War in Gaza

A healing period of picnics, weddings and vaccinations, text and photographs by salwan georges.

A s I went from Israel into the Gaza Strip, I realized I was the only person crossing the border checkpoint that day. But I immediately saw that streets were vibrant with people shopping and wending through heavy traffic. There are hardly any working traffic lights in Gaza City, so drivers wave their hands out their windows to alert others to let them pass.

Despite the liveliness, recent trauma lingered in the air: In May, Israeli airstrikes destroyed several buildings and at least 264 Palestinians died. The fighting came after thousands of rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel, where at least 16 people died. Workers were still cleaning up when I visited in late August, some of them recycling rubble — such as metal from foundations — to use for rebuilding.

I visited the city of Beit Hanoun, which was heavily damaged. I met Ibrahim, whose apartment was nearly destroyed, and as I looked out from a hole in his living room, I saw children gathered to play a game. Nearby there is a sports complex next to a school. Young people were playing soccer.

Back in Gaza City, families come every night to Union Soldier Park to eat, shop and play. Children and their parents were awaiting their turn to pay for a ride on an electric bike decorated with LED lights. In another part of town, not too far away, the bazaar and the markets were filled ahead of the weekend.

The beach in Gaza City is the most popular destination for locals, particularly because the Israeli government, which occupies the territory, generally does not allow them to leave Gaza. Families picnicked in the late afternoon and then stayed to watch their kids swim until after sunset. One of the local traditions when someone gets married is to parade down the middle of a beachfront road so the groom can dance with relatives and friends.

Amid the activities, I noticed that many people were not wearing face coverings, and I learned that the coronavirus vaccination rate is low. The health department started placing posters around the city to urge vaccination and set up a weekly lottery to award money to those who get immunized.

I also attended the funeral of a boy named Omar Abu al-Nil, who was wounded by the Israeli army — probably by a bullet — during one of the frequent protests at the border. He later died at the hospital from his wounds. More than 100 people attended, mainly men. They carried Omar to the cemetery and buried him as his father watched.

Salwan Georges is a Washington Post staff photographer.

Beyond the Numbers

At home, i constructed a photo diary to show the pandemic’s human toll, text and photographs by beth galton.

I n March 2020, while the coronavirus began its universal spread, my world in New York City became my apartment. I knew that to keep safe I wouldn’t be able to access my studio, so I brought my camera home and constructed a small studio next to a window.

I began my days looking at the New York Times and The Washington Post online, hoping to find a glimmer of positive news. What I found and became obsessed with were the maps, charts and headlines, all of which were tracking the coronavirus’s spread. I printed them out to see how the disease had multiplied and moved, soon realizing that each of these little visual changes affected millions of people. With time, photographs of people who had died began to appear in the news. Grids of faces filled the screen; many died alone, without family or friends beside them.

This series reflects my emotions and thoughts through the past year and a half. By photographing data and images, combined with botanicals, my intent was to speak to the humanity of those affected by this pandemic. I used motion in the images to help convey the chaos and apprehensions we were all experiencing. I now see that this assemblage is a visual diary of my life during the pandemic.

Beth Galton is a photographer in New York.

Finding Hope in Seclusion

A self-described sickle cell warrior must stay home to keep safe, text and photographs by endia beal.

O nyekachukwu Onochie, who goes by Onyeka, is a 28-year-old African American woman born with sickle cell anemia. She describes herself as a sickle cell warrior who lives each day like it’s her last. “When I was younger,” she told me, “I thought I would live until my mid-20s because I knew other people with sickle cell that died in their 20s.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes sickle cell anemia as an inherited red blood cell disorder that causes those cells to become hard and sticky, and appear C-shaped. Healthy red blood cells are round and move through small blood vessels to carry oxygen, whereas sickle cells die earlier and transport less oxygen. The disorder can cause debilitating pain and organ failure.

In June 2020, Onyeka began preparing her body for a stem cell transplant — a new treatment — and underwent the procedure in April. She is now home in Winston-Salem, N.C., recovering from the transplant. Despite the positive results thus far, Onyeka’s immune system is compromised and she is at greater risk of severe illness or death from viruses.

I asked about her life during the pandemic. She told me: “My new normal includes video chat lunch dates. I have more energy now than ever before, but I have to stay indoors to protect myself from airborne viruses, among other things.” Onyeka believes she has been given a new life with endless possibilities — even though she is temporarily homebound.

Endia Beal is an artist based in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Baker’s Choice

A fun-loving, self-taught baker decides to open her shop despite the pandemic, text and photographs by marvin joseph.

T iffany Lightfoot is the owner and founder of My Cake Theory, where she merges her love of fashion with her gifts as a baker. Undaunted by the pandemic, she opened her first brick-and-mortar shop on Capitol Hill last year. Lightfoot, 41, combined the skills she learned as a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology with dozens of hours watching the Food Network and YouTube videos — and spun her self-taught baking into a business. With these photographs I wanted to show how much fun she has baking — while building a career she clearly loves.

Marvin Joseph is a Washington Post staff photographer.

Leap of Faith

Despite low vaccination rates, sicilians resume religious parades, text and photographs by michael robinson chavez.

T he island of Sicily has been overrun and conquered by numerous empires and civilizations. The year 2020 brought a new and deadly conqueror, the coronavirus. The lockdown was absolute — even church doors were shut tight. But in 2021, Sicilians brought life and traditions back to their streets.

Saint’s days, or festas, are important events on the Sicilian calendar. Last year, for the first time in more than a century, some towns canceled their festas. The arrival of vaccines this year seemed to offer hope that the processions would once again march down the ancient streets. However, a surge in summer tourism, while helping the local economy, also boosted the coronavirus infection rate.

Sicily has the lowest vaccination rate in Italy. Nevertheless, scaled-down celebrations have reappeared in the island’s streets. In the capital city of Palermo, residents gathered for the festa honoring the Maria della Mercede (Madonna of Mercy), which dates to the 16th century. Children were hoisted aloft to be blessed by the Virgin as a marching band played in a small piazza fronting the church that bears her name. Local bishops did not permit the normal procession because of the pandemic, so local children had their own, carrying a cardboard re-creation of the Virgin through the labyrinth of the famous Il Capo district’s narrow streets.

As the fireworks blossomed overhead and the marching band played on, it was easy to see that Sicilians were embracing a centuries-old tradition that seems certain to last for many more to come.

Michael Robinson Chavez is a Washington Post staff photographer.

Defiant Glamour

After long months of covid confinement, a fearless return to 2019 in miami beach, text and photographs by lucía vázquez.

O n Miami Beach’s Ocean Drive I’ve seen drunk girls hitting other drunk girls, and I’ve seen men high on whatever they could afford, zombie-walking with their mouths and eyes wide open amid the tourists. I’ve seen partyers sprawled on the pavement just a few feet from the Villa Casa Casuarina, the former Versace mansion.

I’ve seen groups of women wearing fake eyelashes as long and thick as a broom, and flashing miniature bras, and smoking marijuana by a palm tree in the park, next to families going to the beach. I’ve seen five girls standing on the back of a white open-air Jeep twerking in their underwear toward the street.

My photographs, taken in August, capture South Beach immersed in this untamed party mood with the menace of the delta variant as backdrop. They document young women enjoying the summer after more than a year of confinement. Traveling from around the country, they made the most of their return to social life by showing off their style and skin, wearing their boldest party attire. I was drawn to the fearlessness of their outfits and their confidence; I wanted to show how these women identify themselves and wish to be perceived, a year and a half after covid-19 changed the world.

Lucía Vázquez is a journalist and photographer based in New York and Buenos Aires.

A Giving Spirit

‘this pandemic has taught me to be even closer to my family and friends’, text and photographs by octavio jones.

M arlise Tolbert-Jones, who works part time for an air conditioning company in Tampa, spends most of her time caring for her 91-year-old father, Rudolph Tolbert, and her aunt Frances Pascoe, who is 89. Marlise visits them daily to make sure they’re eating a good breakfast and taking their medications. In addition to being a caregiver, Marlise, 57, volunteers for a local nonprofit food pantry, where she helps distribute groceries for families. Also, she volunteers at her church’s food pantry, where food is distributed every Saturday morning.

“I’m doing this because of my [late] mother, who would want me to be there for the family and the community,” she told me. “I’ve had my struggles. I’ve been down before, but God has just kept me stable and given me the strength to keep going. This pandemic has taught me to be even closer to my family and friends.”

Octavio Jones is an independent photojournalist based in Tampa.

First, people paused. Then they took stock. Then they persevered.

Text and photographs by anastassia whitty.

W e all know the pandemic has challenged people and altered daily routines. I created this photo essay to highlight the perspectives and experiences of everyday people, specifically African Americans: What does their “new normal” look like? I also wanted to demonstrate how they were able to persevere. One such person is Maria J. Hackett, 30, a Brooklyn photographer, dancer and mother of a daughter, NiNi. Both are featured on the cover.

I asked Maria her thoughts on what the pandemic has meant for her. “Quarantine opened up an opportunity to live in a way that was more healthy while taking on much-needed deep healing,” she told me. “It was my mental and emotional health that began breaking me down physically. ... I put things to a stop as my health began to deteriorate. I decided I will no longer chase money — but stay true to my art, plan and trust that things will come together in a healthier way for us. I focused more on letting my daughter guide us and on her remaining happy with her activities and social life.”

“Enrolling her in camps and classes like dance and gymnastics led me to develop a schedule and routine,” Maria explained, “opening room for me to complete my first dance residency in my return to exploration of movement. I made time to share what I know with her and what she knows with me.”

Jasmine Hamilton of Long Island, 32, talked in similiar terms. She too became more focused on mental health and fitness. She told me: “The pandemic has demonstrated that life is short and valuable, so I’m more open to creating new experiences.”

Anastassia Whitty is a photographer based in New York.

About this story

Photo editing by Dudley M. Brooks and Chloe Coleman. Design and development by Audrey Valbuena. Design editing by Suzette Moyer and Christian Font. Editing by Rich Leiby. Copy editing by Jennifer Abella and Angie Wu.

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Inside Gen Z

Winners of a Learning Network contest share their take on what previous generations should know about them.

The Learning Network , a site about teaching and learning with content from The New York Times, runs contests for students all year long. In September, we challenged teenagers to analyze media and adult stereotypes about their generation — then take photos to counter them. “What can you show us from your own life, or the lives of those around you, that might help make the portrait of ‘Gen Z’ more interesting, nuanced, complete or real?” we asked. Nearly 2,200 students answered. Here are 11 of our winners, with excerpts from their accompanying artists’ statements. You can see many more at learning.nytimes.com . — Katherine Schulten

Sabina Sarsenova, 19, Astana, Kazakhstan

Adults do not understand why teenagers dye their hair in bright colors. But it’s not childish, as they often think; it’s a form of self-expression. Modern teenagers want to attract attention, a lot of attention.

Jack Wisialowski, 17, West Hartford, Conn.

Meet my friend Max. The internet, for Max, is a place to discover how to build a skateboard ramp to launch off of, or to find a secret skate spot underneath a bridge. Contrary to the stereotypes, my generation loves to play outside and use our imaginations.

Eleanor Kinsel, 16, Seattle

A teenage girl is lighting a votive candle in a church. Every Sunday, Maxine attends church service with her family, something that her parents also did when they were teenagers. My generation lives in a different world than past generations, however; participating in traditions helps bring us together.

Kennedy Conroy, 15, Layton, Utah

I titled this picture “Locker Room Talk” because it contrasts the meaning that it has in our day and age. It shows the innocence and happiness of teenage girls in place of men speaking in ways that degrade women in the locker room.

Rawan Saleh, 17, Louisville, Ky.

In this terrible moment, all I want is to be a plain old American teenager. Who can simply mourn without fear. Who goes to dances and can walk around without always being anxious. And who isn’t a presumed terrorist first and an American second.

Marissa Perales, 17, Oak Lawn, Ill.

Growing up in suburbia with lesbian parents has its benefits and struggles. I have had to grow thick skin for the ignorance of other people. The constant fear and tormentors I had to endure made me feel worthless, but shaped me into an empathetic and open minded person. I captured the warmth of my home life.

Jodi Davidson, 18, Bracebridge, Ontario

I grew up writing poems. Pregnancy was just never one of my poetry titles until now. I tore apart the imperfections of a pregnant teenager; I stayed in school. I killed the trend of failure, as I walked across my graduation stage. I danced at my prom. But it’s no longer my pregnancy. I had a baby.

Taeya Boi-Doku, 16, Concord, Mass.

The model is bathed in red, a color that depicts violence, anger and wildness, put onto him by others. Yet, the light bounces off of his skin, so radiant that it shapes the red light into the three silhouettes behind him, a more holistic representation of the many facets of his person that no stereotype can fulfill.

Tristan Russell, 16, Mercersburg, Pa.

As a teen attending boarding school, my lifestyle is influenced by technology in a monumental way. With my family 1,021 miles away, I have adopted a new family, others going through the same story as me. Going from a dark lonely room, to speaking and having a good time with the people I enjoy, some might say this is the best time of day. You can simply let lose in yourown world, in the rule-less reality of technology, that adults simply do not understand.

Noah Lee, 17, Canton, Ga.

Our generation is so into technology and phones that we don’t see life around that. All day, every day, we text or post on social media. We only see things through our phones.

Alexis Ceniceros, 16, Frisco, Tex.

Angel, 3, looks up to Andres so much and Andres knows he became a good role model for him to follow. Adults get the wrong impression that we don’t care about anyone else but ourselves and that we don’t care about how we’re seen, but they couldn’t be more wrong.

We also polled teachers across America to find out their views on Generation Z. Read their (often surprising) responses here .

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Generation Z Engagement in Politics: Preferences and Perspectives

Scholars and academics have explored the unique characteristics, values, and perspectives associated with different generational cohorts for thousands of years. By doing so, they have deepened our understanding of how generational differences can shape society and influence its trajectory over time [1] . Before delving into the differences between age brackets, it is essential to define the word “generation”. In essence, a generation refers to a group of individuals who were born around the same time and grew up in similar surroundings. These individuals within the same birth cohort tend to display similar traits, values, and preferences throughout their lifetime.

The study of differences between and among generations has been known since the times of ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato [2] . In the 19th century, Giuseppe Ferrari, who wrote Teoria dei Periodi Politici, observed that every 30 years a new set of leaders take over the government, bringing new ideas and perspectives that differ from their predecessors [3] . One of the causes of sociological change is human biology. Just as the cells in our bodies constantly change over time, so too do a society’s norms and ideologies [4] . The 19th-century French philosopher August Comte observed that the evolution of society is driven by the process of generational turnover. Each successive generation introduces new ideas, practices, and values and thus play a vital role in shaping the culture [5] .

In the 20th century, prominent Hungarian intellectual Karl Mannheim advanced the theory that each generation learns from the traditions and norms of the society and ancestors that preceded them. In a series of essays, Mannheim observed that as new generations mature and become more involved in society, they begin to develop unique perspectives, ideas, values, and behaviors, which they carry with them through their lifetime [6] . As older generations die off, these new ideas and practices shape a new society. More recently, American political scientist Ronald Inglehart’s work in the 1970s provided an example of how generational differences manifest in society. Inglehart found that in contrast to the pre-World War II generation in Western Europe, who placed great importance on security and political order, the post-war generation tended to prioritize self-expression and freedom. This shift in attitude was eventually reflected in broader societal changes that liberalized Western democracies [7] .

Today, one in five Americans belong to the cohort known as Generation Z, Gen Z, Zoomers, iGeneration, centennials, post-millennials, or Homelanders. This demographic, the largest in the world today [8] , usually describes anyone born between 1997 and 2012, although precise birth year is not as important as other socio-economic factors in defining the group [9] . Gen Z are characterized as being digitally savvy, racially diverse, and socially aware. According to the global web index, Gen Z spends more time on social media than “millennials” — those born from the early 1980s to the late 1990s [10] . Furthermore, Gen Z is particularly drawn to visual content over written content as social media encourages them to share their perspectives, and pictures and video translate better to a wider audience. As more Gen Zers come of voting age, they will have more electoral influence [11] , and they will most likely use the digital space to communicate their opinions on politics, including foreign policy. This article seeks to understand the perspective of Gen Z regarding foreign policy, and specifically their attitudes toward global issues.

The Digital Dilemma: The Effects of Tech on Gen Z

Gen Z has witnessed the emergence of tremendous technological change, which has impacted society. The emergence of social media platforms such as Facebook and Friendster in the early 2000s represented the beginning of an important shift in society. They have helped individuals connect regardless of their religion and cultural or geographical location, and allowed members of Gen Z to share their thoughts and ideas with a global audience. There remains, however, a lack of debate about the benefits and drawbacks of social media on a societal scale.

Technology allows people to communicate more quickly in case of accidents or disaster, and can be utilized to raise awareness of social issues. In Abu Dhabi, for example, the police department uses Instagram to promote safe driving practices [12] . Yet, technology also has a dark side. Powerful people such as businessmen and politicians can use social media to shape public opinion, and recently concerns have been raised about the negative impact of social media on individuals [13] . The addictive nature of digital media has led to an increase in inactivity, which brings with it a variety of health concerns such as obesity. The bombardment of imagery on minds that are not yet fully developed has also led to psychological issues such as anxiety and depression [14] .

Global Politics and the “Solidarity Generation”  

Those born between 1997 and 2012 have witnessed a number of global events such as the emergence of the blockchain market and the rise of Artificial Intelligence. The reaction to the global Covid-19 pandemic severely impacted the global economy, which had a direct impact on Gen Z. Many experienced lay-offs, wage cuts, and other socio-economic challenges [15] . As a result of their experiences, members of Gen Z are likely to bring a new perspective to the role of government in addressing both domestic and global issues. Social justice and climate change are expected to be particular focuses of Gen Z, who have been characterized as a “solidarity generation” because of their inclination to join with like-minded people who share their values and ideals [16] . A 2017 global study of 20 nations and a 2021 study that surveyed 45 countries showed that climate change was the most significant issue of concern among the younger generation [17] .

One of the possible reasons for Gen Z’s focus on climate change and human rights rather than the global power competition, is that the United States has reigned as the dominant global player, with only China recently posing any kind of threat to their hegemony. Almost half of Gen Z prioritize climate change as a major threat compared to only 12% who believe countering China is a major concern [18] . A significant proportion of this cohort expressed a preference for a cooperative approach to China rather than embracing a new Cold War paradigm. Moreover, seven in 10 Zoomers believe that the U.S.’s military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan were ill-advised and have had negative repercussions, as have the country’s policies regarding the Syrian civil war and Iran. The prevailing sentiment among Gen Z, who are characterized by extensive global connectivity, demonstrates a propensity for embracing collaborative foreign policies instead of aligning themselves with specific major political actors [19] .

Some policy makers might stereotype Gen Z as being distracted by the digital world and therefore less concerned about national security issues; however, this cohort exhibits a level of voting engagement approximately 20% higher than that shown by the previous generation, according to the Census Burea [20] . The Brookings Institution, a liberal American think tank, reached a similar conclusion about Gen Z’s level of political engagement after one of their seminars featuring expert policy makers discovered that 50% of the cohort they surveyed believed an increase in the national debt over the next three years could be a major problem in the future [21] .

In the United Kingdom, some of Gen Z’s formative years were spent during the Labour Party’s 13-year reign, from Tony Blair’s landslide victory in 1997 [22]  to Gordon Brown’s historic  91-seat loss that led to his resignation in 2010 [23] . It can be argued that these political events have influenced this cohort’s political views and that — especially in the aftermath of Brexit — many have a tendency to align themselves more closely with the Labor Party. They believe that social welfare should be prioritized, and that the government’s role is to redistribute wealth, even if that means an increase in taxes [24] .

In the Middle East, the so-called “Arab Spring” in 2011 had a profound impact on the political outlook of Gen Z. After a Tunisian fruit vendor set himself on fire in protest of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s policies, widespread protests erupted that forced Ben Ali to resign on January 14, 2011. Eleven years later, a survey found that individuals from the Zoomer cohort, who matured in the aftermath of the turmoil, tend to perceive the era of Ben Ali as being relatively tranquil and prosperous. Conversely, the millennial generation, who were old enough to actually participate in the revolution, tends to believe the opposite [25] .

Given their large demographic representation, Gen Z is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of government and individual rights. Many of these individuals have not yet fully matured in the realms of politics and foreign affairs, making it premature to pass definitive judgments on their beliefs and actions, but a few trends are already beginning to emerge.

Naturally, the interests of each cohort within this generation are influenced by their specific domestic needs. However, Gen Z tends to be driven by shared global values and thus issues such as climate change remain high on their agenda. The experiences of Gen Z, particularly their encounters with the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges of low employment, have exerted a profound impact on their perspectives. Consequently, it is highly likely that they will want to focus on strengthening social affairs.          

[1]  Troksa, Lauren M. The Study of Generations: A Timeless Notion within a Contemporary Context. Undergraduate Honors Thesis. Boulder: University of Colorado, 2016. — 95 p. URL:  http://bitly.ws/J2Iz

[2]  Ibid.

[3]  Ferrari, Giuseppe. Teoria dei Periodi Politici. Milan: Hoepli, 1874. — 620 p. URL:  http://bitly.ws/Ku6L ; Delli Carpini, Michael X. Age and History: Generations and Sociopolitical Change // Political Learning in Adulthood: A Sourcebook of Theory and Research / Edited by Roberta S. Sigel. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989. P. 11-55. URL: http://bitly.ws/J2Pn

[4]  Ibid.    

[5]  Origin and Use of Generational Theories // Are Generational Categories Meaningful Distinctions for Workforce Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2020. URL:  https://doi.org/10.17226/25796

[6]  Ibid.

[7]  De Witte, Hans. Ideological Orientation and Values // Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology / Edited by Charles D. Spielberger.  Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2004. P. 249-258. URL:  https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-12-657410-3/00693-0

[8]  Branka. Generation Z Statistics – 2023 // TrueList. URL:  http://bitly.ws/J9eB

[9]  Age Range by Generation // Beresford Research. URL:  http://bitly.ws/Bbto

[10]  Branka. Generation Z Statistics – 2023 // TrueList. URL:  http://bitly.ws/J9eB

[11]  Barnett, Samuel; Thompson, Natalie; Alkoutami, Sandy. How Gen Z Will Shake Up Foreign Policy // Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. December 3, 2020. URL:  http://bitly.ws/JrCC

[12]  Abu Dhabi Police Launched Online Awareness Campaign // Gulf News. July 13, 2013. URL:  http://bitly.ws/JrHo

[13]  Ghosh, Dipayan. Are We Entering a New Era of Social Media Regulation? // Harvard Business Review. January 14, 2021. URL:  http://bitly.ws/JrIB

[14]  Sharma, Manu; Kaushal, Deepak; Joshi, Sudhanshu. Adverse Effect of Social Media on Generation Z User’s Behavior: Government Information Support as a Moderating Variable // Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. № 72. May 2023. URL:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103256

[15]  Sajuria, Javier. Generation Z and Political Participation: A Comparative Analysis with Previous Generations // Politics and Governance. Vol. 7. № 4. 2019. P. 192-201.

[16]  Kelly, Diann Cameron. Inspiring Gen Z Voters to Participate in Voting and Volunteering // Advances in Applied Sociology. Vol. 13. № 1. 2023. P. 43-46. URL: https://doi.org/10.4236/aasoci.2023.131004

[17]  Ibid.

[18]  Barnett, Samuel; Thompson, Natalie; Alkoutami, Sandy. How Gen Z Will Shake Up Foreign Policy // Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. December 3, 2020. URL:  http://bitly.ws/JrCC

[19]  Ibid.

[20]  Ibid.

[21]  Gray, Gordon. The Politically Active Generations: Millennials, Gen Z Care About the Debt — and More // American Action Forum. February 7, 2020. URL:  http://bitly.ws/JrEG

[22]  The Labor Party won the 1997 general election by the largest majority of seats since 1945. See General Election Results // UK Parliament. May 1, 1997. URL:  http://bitly.ws/CTtu

[23]  In 2010, the Labor Party leader Gordon Brown stepped down, which paved the way for the Conservatives to return to power. See Booth, Robert. Gordon Brown Resigns // The Guardian. May 11, 2010. URL:  http://bitly.ws/CTvC

[24] Generation Z – Do They Exist and and What Influences Them? //  Ipsos. January 19, 2023. URL:  http://bitly.ws/JrGo

[25]  Boussen, Zied. Youth Perceptions of Politics in the Post-2011 Tunisia: Giving the Floor to Millennials and Gen Z // Arab Reform Initiative. May 25, 2022. URL:  http://bitly.ws/JrGZ

Key words: Modern Technology, Global Security

Discussion of Gen Z’s Core Beliefs Essay

Introduction.

In an increasingly growing skills gap across many industries in the United States, it is direr than ever for companies and institutions to replace their talent pipelines. While executives have tried to comprehend and work coherently with millennials in recent few decades, they must now accustom to even a younger and larger demographic of Generation Z (Gen Z). From this perspective, Millennials are a population group born from around the early 1980s to 2000 (Feingold, 2019).

The generation experienced vast technological revolutions as most of these advancements started from the era they were born. Contrarily, Gen Z refers to individuals born from around 1997 to 2012, translating to more members than millennials in the United States (Feingold, 2019). The essay provides deepened analysis of the core beliefs that guide Gen Z’s daily lives while also reflecting how this generation differs from others.

Core Beliefs of Gen Z and the Differences from Millennials and Other Generations

First, Gen Z principally believes in turning to the web for practically everything, from news and lifestyle to entertainment. Just like Millennials, Gen Z has been nurtured in the era of social media, and most of them acquire smartphones as early as ten years old. Recent generational research conducted by Fullscreen reveals that Gen Z devotes roughly fifty hours each week surfing social networking channels (Bond, 2020). Social media and such similar outlets make them feel motivated and empowered coupled with availed opportunities to make instant connections through stories, reposting content, or direct messaging. Therefore, Gen Z has natural relations with technology more than any other demographic cohort.

Second, Gen Z is pragmatic when matched with Millennials who appear idealistic. Millennials are an optimistic generation regularly seen to be pandered by their parents as ostensibly reflected in the axiomatic millennial involvement trophy. Gen Z experiences the challenge of being raised during the global financial recession but can withstand and comprehend the economic pressure, which communities and even most of their parents encountered. The group saw their parents struggle with financial and employment issues but have remained rational about the situation. Millennials are idealists nurtured during a period of economic boom (Bond, 2020).

Consequently, the global economic meltdown positively impacted Gen Z by becoming exceptionally practical with money. They are more oriented to saving money compared with Millennials during that age who are inclined in having wholesome experiences. Gen Z would love to make acquisitions that maximize the value of the money spent, perhaps a direct consequence of growing up during economic turmoil where conspicuous consumption looks unattractive.

In conclusion, I believe Gen Z is an interesting demographic cohort that manifests positive values. The analysis shows the core beliefs that guide this generation’s daily lives while also reflecting how it differs from others. Born from around 1997 to 2012, Gen Z has been natured at the heart of the social media epoch that has positively impacted their lives. They principally believe in consulting online resources for practically everything.

However, they are also a pragmatic group that believes in saving money and venturing into things that can optimally maximize their value compared with Millennials who are keen on product experience. Moreover, both Millennials and Gen Z were raised in different periods, but the latter has a stronger connection with technology, a different standpoint on money, and show resiliency despite harsh economic situation at childhood.

Bond, C. (2020). There’s a big difference between Millennials and Generation Z . Huffpost. Web.

Feingold, L. (2019). Not sure if you’re a Millennial or part of Gen Z? We want to hear from you . NPR. Web.

• Chicago (A-D)
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IvyPanda . 2023. "Discussion of Gen Z's Core Beliefs." November 3, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/discussion-of-gen-zs-core-beliefs/.

1. IvyPanda . "Discussion of Gen Z's Core Beliefs." November 3, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/discussion-of-gen-zs-core-beliefs/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Discussion of Gen Z's Core Beliefs." November 3, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/discussion-of-gen-zs-core-beliefs/.

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Essay on Gen Z

Students are often asked to write an essay on Gen Z in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Gen Z

Who is gen z.

Generation Z is the group of people born from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s. They are the kids who grew up with smartphones and the internet. Unlike their parents, they’ve always had the world’s information just a tap away.

Technology and Gen Z

These young people are known for being very good with technology. They use it for learning, playing, and talking with friends. Social media is a big part of their lives, and they often use it to express themselves.

Education and Work

Gen Z cares a lot about education and is known for being smart and hardworking. Many are still in school, while others are just starting their jobs. They want to do work that makes a difference.

Values and Beliefs

This generation is very open-minded. They believe in fairness and are not afraid to speak up for what is right. They care about the planet and are active in fighting for a better future.

Challenges They Face

Gen Z faces many challenges, like stress from school and worries about the future. They also deal with a lot of information all the time, which can be overwhelming. But they are strong and keep pushing forward.

250 Words Essay on Gen Z

Gen Z is a group of young people born between 1997 and 2012. They are the kids who came after Millennials and are known for growing up with the internet, smartphones, and social media. This has made them very comfortable with technology.

Since they were small, Gen Z has had gadgets like tablets and smartphones in their hands. This makes them very good at using apps, playing online games, and finding information quickly. They often like to shop, watch shows, and talk to friends online.

Gen Z values learning and is known for being smart and creative. They like to think of new ways to solve problems. When it comes to work, they want jobs that are not just about making money but also about making a difference in the world.

This generation cares a lot about issues like protecting the environment and treating everyone fairly. They want to make the world a better place and often support causes that are important to them.

Challenges for Gen Z

Even though they are young, Gen Z faces challenges. They can feel stressed by things like school, the future, and what they see on the internet. But they are also strong and ready to work hard to make their dreams come true.

In short, Gen Z is a group of young, tech-savvy people who are preparing to make their mark on the world. They might face some problems, but their skills and passion could lead to great things.

500 Words Essay on Gen Z

Imagine a group of young people who have always known what a smartphone is. They probably cannot remember a time before the internet. These are the people we call Generation Z, or Gen Z for short. They were born between the late 1990s and early 2010s. Unlike their parents or older siblings, Gen Z has grown up in a world full of advanced technology and social media.

For Gen Z, technology is like air; it’s everywhere, and they can’t imagine living without it. They use smartphones, tablets, and computers effortlessly. They learn new apps quickly and are always connected to their friends and the world through the internet. This tech-savvy nature makes them very good at finding information and learning new things online.

Education and Career

When it comes to school and jobs, Gen Z is very different from older generations. They like to learn by doing things rather than just reading about them. They are creative and enjoy working on projects that matter to them. Many of them want to have jobs that help people or the environment. They are not afraid to start their own businesses and share their ideas with the world.

Social Media and Communication

Gen Z loves social media. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat are where they hang out, share stories, and express themselves. They use emojis, memes, and short videos to talk to each other. For them, sending a quick message online is just as good as talking face to face.

This generation cares a lot about important issues like climate change, equality, and being kind to others. They want to make the world a better place and are not shy about standing up for what they believe in. They support brands and companies that are honest and do good things for people and the planet.

Challenges Faced by Gen Z

Even though they have many skills and good intentions, Gen Z faces challenges too. They often feel pressure to be perfect because of what they see on social media. They worry about the future, especially with problems like climate change and finding jobs. But they are also strong and ready to work hard to overcome these challenges.

In conclusion, Gen Z is a unique and interesting group of young people. They are the first true digital natives, growing up in a world that is always connected. They learn differently, communicate through screens, care deeply about the planet, and face their own set of challenges. As they grow up, they will surely change the world with their fresh ideas and brave actions. It’s exciting to think about what they will do and how they will shape the future.

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Kurt Cobain and Me: The Gen X poster child and rock legend is my Gen Z hero, too

My parents love nirvana, too. but i have my own relationship with cobain's music and persona, by gabriella ferrigine.

The boys spilled out of the locker room in a gnashing horde.

They pitched their bodies into the air and flung clumps of sweaty hair from their faces, headbanging in line with the stomping bass that had just cracked across the gym’s sound system. 

Full of flowing hormones and covered in dried sweat, the entirety of my high school gym class began to move to the music — each individual in their own way — enraptured by its energy and still thrumming with adrenaline from 2v2 basketball scrimmages. 

For a few fleeting minutes, social stratification was entirely dismantled by one rotating guitar riff. Sports jocks, guys who stuffed their bottom lip with dip in the back of class, girls who smelled like vanilla and bright artificial fruit, and reticent wallflowers, all churning together.

By the time the bell rang, prodding us toward precalc or a quiz on “The Sound and the Fury,” it did, in fact, smell like teen spirit. 

We filed out of the gym, buzzing and bedraggled. A shared ecstasy lingered, if only until the next period began. 

Experiencing that subtle, shimmering solidarity, the threading of different social subgroups together, is intrinsic to my attachment — as a member of Gen Z , not X — to Kurt Cobain, frontman of the iconic '90s grunge rock band Nirvana. 

Since the genesis of the band in 1987 — and Cobain’s subsequent, seismic fame, then tragic death by suicide — he’s functioned as something of a talismanic leader for generations of morose, angsty and disaffected fans. Some of this posthumous cultural longevity is surely due to his premature death, which preserved him in amber, devoid of a flop era and safe from cancellable offense. But that doesn't entirely explain his enduring appeal. Cobain’s emotional melancholy is something members of Gen Z — widely understood as prone to trauma-dumping on the internet and hyper-sensitivity — can find particularly relatable. 

Raised by Gen X parents like mine whose early adulthoods were largely defined by Nirvana and Cobain, his music became part of a shared, familial identity they could pass down to us. In a recent essay for The Guardian, writer Hannah Ewens opines that “Just as the Beatles defined the construct of a rock band, Nirvana redefined what a band was — both in the public consciousness and to other musicians: unpretentious, tough and sensitive, embraced by the system while threatening it.” It's not particularly rebellious to embrace your parents' definition of good music, but over time, I forged my own relationship with Kurt Cobain, distinct from theirs. 

In all honestly, I’ve always felt several standard deviations away from what feels normal (an entirely subjective term). I know this sounds moderately insufferable, but bear with me. My life has been overwhelmingly positive in so many ways. And yet, setting aside personal conflicts and a heady amalgam of ADHD and anxiety, much of it has also felt very different to me than how it’s appeared outwardly to others. I don’t have a complex, philosophical explanation for this discrepancy. I don’t think you always need one. Cobain's music gives me a language for reconciling my own contradictions. We aren't the same by any means: I've had no meteoric rise to fame, no heroin addiction. But there was still a person named Kurt before all that happened to him. 

During my first years of college, like many, I struggled with finding my sense of self. Flush with insecurities of every kind, I tried on different personalities (and some bad outfits) in an effort to, if not wholly reinvent myself, at least discover something about myself that I actually liked or felt secure about. It was a process that ultimately backfired — by trying to be someone I wasn’t, I inadvertently jettisoned some of the most fundamentally defining pieces of myself. And all the while, I was still as sullen and angsty as ever. That all changed on Christmas Day, 2018, when my parents gave me my first pair of Doc Marten boots. 

Laugh if you will, but getting my Docs was like finding my glass slipper. At nearly 6 feet tall, I’d always felt something like Cinderella’s stepsisters, trying to cram my oversized foot into a tiny, dainty, acceptably pretty and interesting shoe. I wear them most days now. Aside from being comfortable, they're equipped with a steel-toed tenacity ideal for navigating New York’s perpetually crusty streets. 

And yes, Docs were a subcultural fashion item of the ‘90s — my dad still owns the pair he wore moshing at a Nirvana show with my mom at the now-shuttered Roseland Ballroom in New York in 1993. While Cobain wore Converse for that particular performance, I’m certain he laced up his boots often too. I often find myself gravitating toward those looks: slouchy pants, oversized jackets and knitwear, the occasional grandpa cardigan. As I’ve grown older, I’ve become increasingly confident in myself and my fashion choices, aware that the old adage is true: What you wear is truly a reflection of who you are. I’m sure that’s what Cobain was trying to convey every time he opted for a skirt or floral-patterned dress for a live performance. That has always been an inspiring exemplar of unabashed confidence to me.

But carrying yourself with confidence in public doesn’t necessarily equate to comfort with — or suitability for — fame, as Cobain's conflicted relationship to the celebrity status that accompanied his artistic success showed me. Regardless of whether he sought to be an international star before it happened, the “slings and arrows” of fame that writer Michael Azerrad wrote about in part for the 2021 New Yorker essay, “My Time With Kurt Cobain,” underpinned the rocker’s mental and emotional health struggles. 

It's not particularly rebellious to embrace your parents' definition of good music, but over time, I forged my own relationship with Kurt Cobain, distinct from theirs. 

In all likelihood, I’ll never be famous, and that’s OK. It’s not exactly something I aspire toward. But the essence of Cobain’s fame has always been incredibly relatable to me. There’s something so vulnerable and real — in an attention economy that demands performance from us all — about someone trying to keep a firm foothold in two warring worlds simultaneously, straddling the ever-oscillating line of what the public sees and what it can't. (“I’m not like them, but I can pretend,” resonates.)

This tension that seems innately bound into Cobain's persona — and Nirvana more broadly — is accurately reflected in the band’s lyrics. Dark, atmospheric themes abound — anger, personal struggles, violence, real and figurative — and while the sometimes disturbing subject matter can be difficult to take, I found the messages braided into them intriguing. His lyrics reflected Cobain’s chaos and mystique, which is to say, I didn’t necessarily understand them all, especially as a kid. All I knew was — mingled with his raspy voice and the band’s splintering sounds — they made me feel at an entirely unprecedented level. And some latent part of me was drawn to that brooding sentiment.

It came as no surprise to me when I learned that he was also a Pisces. 

Whether you believe in astrological signs or find it all to be a bit hokey, I find that Cobain embodied the compassion, sensitivity and emotional profundity that have come to be associated with the symbol of two fish swimming in opposite directions. That division between fantasy and reality — a liminal space I constantly turn to — is one that Cobain ostensibly occupied just as frequently. It’s something like the Vitruvian man, constantly splayed in different directions by our thoughts and ever-shifting emotions. It’s an identity Cobain internalized so intensely that he even carried it with him into his death in April of 1994, writing in his suicide note that he was a “sad little, sensitive, unappreciative Pisces, Jesus man.”

I’ve always known that finding comfort in the music and fashion of my parents’ generation, specifically the elements of it that have since become canonical, is a byproduct of my close-knit and large immediate family. It’s an idiosyncratic, shared existence — something that makes me feel comforted and protective at once. And yet, I’m my own person. While I would be remiss to ignore the inescapability of influence, my relationship with Cobain and his work could never precisely mirror theirs. And I think that’s part of his legacy. He was able to transcend space and time so seamlessly, so acutely, that his aura — which has spoken to my mom and dad for nearly 40 years — now screams to me from a stage set in an entirely different void. 

So consider me influenced, if that’s what becoming secure in my tastes and personhood means. I won’t be running from that anytime soon. 

If you are in crisis, please call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

about Nirvana

• I'm not like them, but I can pretend (Obviously, this is an essay about Kurt Cobain and Nirvana)
• Kurt Cobain's daughter marks the 30th anniversary of his death with a loving tribute
• "Nevermind" 30 years on — how Nirvana's second album tilted the world on its axis

Gabriella Ferrigine is a staff writer at Salon. Originally from the Jersey Shore, she moved to New York City in 2016 to attend Columbia University, where she received her B.A. in English and M.A. in American Studies. Formerly a staff writer at NowThis News, she has an M.A. in Magazine Journalism from NYU and was previously a news fellow at Salon.

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Essay Sample on Generation Z's Mental Health Issues

J.K. Rowling once stated that, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light,” and while this certainly can be true, the light can be nonexistent to those who are blinded. Gen-Z is acknowledged as the generation from 1997-2012 and with this generation in the cusp of adulthood it is notorious that their mental health has deteriorated extensively in comparison to other generations. To some they are lazy. Unaware. Outspoken. Disrespectful. The light which is supposed to be radiating upon this generation is being obscured by detriments fabricating a blindfold. Mental health has been a rising issue in Gen-Z due to the neglect of receiving the help they require, broken social standards, and  the constant bombardment of technology and social media. 

In one's life parents are the foundation of who their children are and will become later on in their lives. Children are extremely influenced by their surroundings and their parents being involved in their daily lives, or not, is impactive. When it comes to mental wellness there is a plethora of parents that are oblivious to what their children are experiencing. In many cases some parents struggle with mental health issues as well but are unaware. Michael Shapiro a psychiatrist stated that, “Studies have noted that between 12-26 percent of parents reported not wanting or needing help, or being unwilling to seek help for a child’s depression.” This demonstrates that a child's needs are being denied because a parent lacks the willingness to provide their kids with mental support. Parents cannot protect their children from everything but they can try to be there for them when they need moral support.

Over the past 20 years Gen-Z has encountered an insane amount of backlash from other generations because of the broken social standards that have been in this society. Members of this generation have counteracted so many of the “moral” principles that older generations have set in stone. Racial movements have taken place before but within this generation there is this passion for change that is not to be seen in other places. Other vital subjects such as sexual orientation are also being endorsed. The Pew Research Center states that, “Roughly half of Gen Zers (48%) and Millennials (47%) say gay and lesbian couples being allowed to marry is a good thing for our society.” in comparison to boomers in which only 27 percent of them think that it will be beneficial. They also state that Republican 43% of Gen-Zers in comparison to 20% Boomers think that there is a racial issue occurring. This demonstrates how older generations and Gen-Z do not coincide with most social issues occurring. Seeing the negativity in this world especially because of social media can further impact mental health. This can cause them to be considered disrespectful when in reality Gen-Z has found their voice and is using it for the greater good. 

Social media is the biggest component to the deterioration of a teens mental health. The life that a Gen-Z teen lives is sadly severely influenced by this component. In this world of technology the generation is on a day to day basis compelled to be on social media for at least 4.5, if not more. Gain weight. Lose it. Wear this. Have this body type. Wear makeup. Stay natural. It is a constant cycle of having to be accepted by society and this generation seems to seek validation. A ten year long study Proffesor Sarah Coyon states that, “Girls who used social media for at least two to three hours per day at the beginning of the study--when they were about 13 years old--and then greatly increased their use over time were at a higher clinical risk for suicide as emerging adults” This highlights that social media can cause mental health issues so severe that suicide can be an outcome. The fact that even two hours of social media use a day can end up harming a person so gravely is concerning to another level. 

In summary, mental health issues in Gen-Z have been an excruciatingly concerning issue in comparison to other generations. The world is already a dark place and these detriments do not contribute any light especially to this young generation. Parents need to make sure that they are providing the necessary support to children in need as well as older generations should not make them feel as though they owe anything to them. Social media is so harmful in today's society yet it plays a prodigious role on a daily basis. No one deserves to have a mind drowning in so much darkness and anguish; Gen-Z should be allowed to see the light that J.K. Rowling is trying to emphasize there is.

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15 Unexpected Items Gen Z Considers ‘Essential’

Posted: April 22, 2024 | Last updated: April 22, 2024

As the first generation to grow up entirely in the digital age, Gen Z (born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s) has a unique perspective on what items are essential for daily life. While some of their must-haves are similar to those of previous generations, others reflect the changing times and the impact of technology on modern living.

Let’s explore 15 unexpected items that Gen Z considers essential, from the practical to the weird. These items offer a glimpse into the priorities, values, and lifestyles of this diverse and influential generation.

Reusable Water Bottle

For Gen Z, staying hydrated is not just a health priority, but also an environmental one. Many Gen Zers have grown up with a heightened awareness of the impact of single-use plastics on the environment, and as a result, reusable water bottles have become a must-have accessory. From sleek stainless steel designs to colorful silicone models, a reusable water bottle is an essential item for staying refreshed and reducing waste.

Blue Light Blocking Glasses

With so much of their lives spent in front of screens, many Gen Zers have become concerned about the potential impact of blue light on their eye health and sleep patterns. As a result, blue light blocking glasses have become an unexpected essential for this generation. These special lenses are designed to filter out the blue light emitted by digital devices, reducing eye strain and promoting better sleep.

Portable Charger

For a generation that relies heavily on their smartphones for communication, entertainment, and information, a dead battery is a major inconvenience. That’s why portable chargers have become an essential item for many Gen Zers. These compact devices can provide multiple charges for a phone or other device, ensuring that Gen Zers can stay connected no matter where they are.

Reusable Straws

Like reusable water bottles, reusable straws have become an essential item for many Gen Zers who are concerned about the environmental impact of single-use plastics. From bamboo to silicone to stainless steel, there are many options available for those who want to sip sustainably. Some Gen Zers even carry their own reusable straws with them when they go out to eat or drink.

Instant Camera

Despite growing up in a digital age, many Gen Zers have a deep appreciation for the tangible and the analog. Instant cameras, which print out photos on the spot, have become a popular way for Gen Zers to capture and share memories in a more physical way. From the classic Polaroid to newer models like the Fujifilm Instax, instant cameras are an unexpected essential for this generation.

Wireless Earbuds

For a generation that is always on the go and always connected, wireless earbuds have become an essential accessory. Whether they’re listening to music, podcasts, or taking calls, many Gen Zers rely on their wireless earbuds to stay entertained and productive throughout the day. With a wide range of styles and price points available, there’s a pair of wireless earbuds for every Gen Zer’s needs and preferences.

Bullet Journal

In a world of digital calendars and to-do lists, the bullet journal has emerged as an unexpected essential for many Gen Zers. This analog planning system combines the functions of a planner, diary, and notebook into a single, customizable format. For Gen Zers who crave a more tactile and creative approach to organization, the bullet journal has become a beloved tool for staying on top of tasks and goals.

Houseplants

For a generation that values wellness and self-care, houseplants have become an unexpected essential. Many Gen Zers have embraced the benefits of indoor greenery, from improving air quality to reducing stress and anxiety. From low-maintenance succulents to lush tropical varieties, there’s a houseplant for every Gen Zer’s lifestyle and skill level.

Reusable Tote Bag

As more and more cities and states ban single-use plastic bags, reusable tote bags have become an essential item for many Gen Zers. These versatile bags can be used for everything from grocery shopping to carrying books and supplies, and they come in a wide range of styles and designs. For a generation that values sustainability and practicality, a reusable tote bag is a must-have accessory.

Meditation App Subscription

In a world that can be stressful and overwhelming, many Gen Zers have turned to meditation as a way to find balance and inner peace. Meditation app subscriptions, which offer guided meditations and mindfulness exercises, have become an unexpected essential for this generation. From Headspace to Calm to Insight Timer, there are many options available for Gen Zers who want to incorporate meditation into their daily routines.

Reusable Coffee Cup

For Gen Zers who rely on caffeine to fuel their busy lives, a reusable coffee cup has become an essential item. Like reusable water bottles and straws, reusable coffee cups help to reduce waste and promote sustainability. Many coffee shops even offer discounts to customers who bring their own cups, making it a win-win for both the environment and the wallet.

Portable Humidifier

With so much time spent in air-conditioned environments, many Gen Zers have discovered the benefits of portable humidifiers for improving air quality and preventing dry skin and sinuses. These small, USB-powered devices can be used at home, at work, or on the go, making them an unexpected essential for this health-conscious generation.

Plant-Based Protein Powder

As more and more Gen Zers embrace plant-based diets for health and environmental reasons, plant-based protein powders have become an unexpected essential. These powders, which are made from sources like pea, hemp, and rice, offer a convenient way to boost protein intake without relying on animal products. From smoothies to baked goods, there are many ways to incorporate plant-based protein powders into a healthy and sustainable diet.

Weighted Blanket

For Gen Zers who struggle with anxiety, stress, or insomnia, weighted blankets have become an unexpected essential. These special blankets, which are filled with weighted beads or pellets, provide a comforting and calming sensation that can help to promote relaxation and better sleep. With a wide range of weights and sizes available, there’s a weighted blanket for every Gen Zer’s needs and preferences.

Reusable Makeup Remover Pads

As the beauty industry becomes more sustainable and eco-conscious, reusable makeup remover pads have become an unexpected essential for many Gen Zers. These soft, washable pads can be used in place of disposable cotton rounds, reducing waste and saving money over time. From bamboo to microfiber to organic cotton, there are many options available for Gen Zers who want to make their beauty routines more sustainable.

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The Rise of 'Grid Zero': Why more Instagram users are hiding their profile

Bobby Allyn

An Instagram page where the user has hidden their entire photo grid. The trend is being led by younger members increasingly concerned for their privacy. NPR hide caption

An Instagram page where the user has hidden their entire photo grid. The trend is being led by younger members increasingly concerned for their privacy.

Not too long ago Jacob Giancola, a music producer in Los Angeles, hid all the photos on his Instagram profile.

It wasn't exactly a revolutionary act, but his friends quickly took note.

"When people asked me, 'you're so mysterious, why do you do that?' I just say, 'I like the sense of privacy, I guess,'" said 28-year-old Giancola.

He's not the only one.

It's something that has become so prevalent on Instagram that I've decided to call it Grid Zero.

For these users, and there are a lot of them, the Instagram grid — traditionally the province of documenting life milestones and jaunts to Mallorca — has become something else: A deliberate blank slate.

4 steps you can take right now to improve your Instagram feed

Meta's Kim Garcia, who helps lead research into cultural trends on Instagram, said in an interview that Grid Zero is indeed a growing phenomenon. And it's being led mostly by Gen Z.

"They totally have this almost aversion to permanence and digital footprints," Garcia said. "Gez Z is growing up in this era that is so public. They don't have the same private spaces to explore, or be weird, or figure themselves out, that older generations, like myself as a millennial, had growing up."

Millennials, of course, grew up documenting their lives online. But a new era of social media oversaturation, thanks to TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram Stories and various other apps, have afforded Gen Z far fewer moments to escape the ever-present glare of being publicly chronicled on social media.

Instagram's Garcia said they're very much using the app, just more discreetly than their older peers.

"They're changing so rapidly, and they're evolving themselves every day," Garcia said. "They don't want all of that to be public all the time."

Grid Zero as a reaction to 'digital addiction'

The move away from the Instagram grid has been growing for years.

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said recently that the platform has been shifting resources away from other parts of the platform and toward direct messaging.

That, he explained, is because the biggest growth areas have been DMs and Stories, which are temporary posts that show up prominently in the app.

Using the Instgram feed of main grid photos has been falling out of vogue for a while with young users.

"If you look at how teens spend their time on Instagram, they spend more time in DMs than they do in Stories, and they spend more time in Stories than they do in feed," Mosseri said on the podcast 20VC.

Dovetailing the decline in popularity of the grid has been more people ending the existence of their grid altogether.

But de-feeding your feed doesn't mean spending less time on Instagram; it just means you're probably flicking through Stories or messaging your friends — choosing fleeting or private interactions over social media permanence.

Snapchat and BeReal understood this preference shift long ago.

BeReal is Gen Z's new favorite social media app. Here's how it works

Instagram said young users continue to use fake Instagram accounts, also known as a "finsta," or "dump account," to share posts with a tigher-knit group of friends, often only after making their main profile Grid Zero.

It is a way of taking some control back, refusing to put your past on display. It's a design choice. Embracing negative space. Making anti-brand the brand.

"It feels to me like the immune system of humanity kicking in against some of this digital addiction," said Cassandra Marketos, a Los Angeles-based digital strategist.

It is also, according to Marketos, a form of self-protection.

"I think at this point we've seen enough stuff dug up from peoples' past, once they become unexpectedly famous, that it's a little bit scary to have a long digital tail hanging out behind you," she said. "And people just want to be buttoned up more than they did before."

Has the IG grid become 'cheugy'?

Instagram would not quantify exactly how much Grid Zero is on the upswing.

Those doing it, though, say the reasons vary. Of course, if you've decided to go Grid Zero, you may be a private person not trying to advertise the move, so might not want your name included here.

"No enthusiasm to post I guess," said one user. "I got weird about privacy," said another Gen Z user, explaining why she hid her entire grid. Someone else who has noticed the trend explained it this way: "Caring about an 'aesthetic' feed is 'cheugy'?" — using a word popular with Gen Z to describe someone who is out of fashion or trying too hard. "The less you care, the cooler you are."

When some Gen Z users are posting to their Instagram feeds, some are doing so sneakily, said Meta's Garcia.

"Basically what we're seeing is they will post on IG and immediately archive that post after it goes live, then they will take it out of their archives days later," she said. "So it doesn't appear on your friends' feeds but it shows up on your grid, almost like a little Easter Egg."

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That is, adding a photo to your Instagram profile only if nobody knows.

For some Grid Zero adherents, there's another factor: how shrouding your social media footprint with some mystery can pique attention, place you slightly out-of-reach, and maybe make you more desirable or interesting than the guy whose feed runs all the way back to the first Obama administration.

"Intrigue feels like such a rarity these days," said Marketos, the LA digital strategist, "that when you encounter it, you're like a man in the desert who has found water."

A version of this story first appeared on One Thing , a Substack devoted to cultural observations and the internet.